That Night
by DaaNi-ChAn
Summary: Ino, depressed by the fact that Sasuke and Sakura got together, spends the night with her close friend, not realizing the result of their night. Gaara x Ino . Sasuke, Neji, Lee and Sakura are recurring Characters. Please R&R.
1. Chapter I

Ok…This story is supposed to be some kind of challenge between The Three FanFicateers…

Kilulu, Kirri and I decided to write stories with different plots and see who could come up with a better story.

Here goes…

**Summary:** Ino and Gaara have a one night stand after Ino realizes how depressed she is. Gaara x Ino…Other couples might be included.

Gotta tell ya, Ino's mom is called Asuka in here. I always call her that…Nyahahahaha.

Yeah, and guys….Sakura is unlikable in this story…I don't like her in this story and I don't want anyone to like her so Sakura fans, **do not read!!**

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**That night…Chapter I:**

July 23rd… it might sound like a simple date for anyone. But it wasn't for Yamanaka Ino, for it was the birthday of the person she looked up to. The person she always admired from the moment she joined the academy. The person she always loved and dreamed to be with…

…Uchiha Sasuke.

Yes, it was his birthday. He's been in a good mood lately so everyone decided to give him a surprised party in the Hyuuga Mansion, since they have the biggest house out of all the Chuunins.

It was two years since Sasuke came home, and a year and a half since he and Sakura started dating, leaving Ino with a broken heart and a shattered soul.

Ino was sitting on one of the couches in the Hyuuga mansion, looking across the room. Naruto was talking to Hinata, holding a couple of candles in his hands and flirting with her while Neji was giving him glares from across the room and being held by Tenten. Shino was talking to Lee, apparently having a funny conversation with him. Of course Ino couldn't tell whether Shino was laughing or not, he had the collar of his jacket high till it covered his face. The hood of the jacket wasn't helping either; he was like an assassin of some kind.

She chuckled when Naruto ran to the middle of the room, almost slipping on his way if it wasn't for his ability to stick himself in place with Chakra.

"Alright everyone, Sasuke is getting near. Everybody, HIDE" he yelled, making everyone go their places of hiding. Ino hid behind the couch. Tenten ran to her side, dragging Neji along. Chouji and Shikamaru hid behind a huge vase in the living room. The rest of the gang were scattered across the big living room. They could hear the conversation between Sasuke and Sakura, who was playing along with the surprise party.

"Why in the world would I LOVE to see something? In Neji's place? Why does everyone think that we're close? I don't even like the guy" Sasuke said, apparently arguing with Sakura. Neji glared at the door, thinking that if he were able to perform a Katon jutsu, He'd simply burn that door down in a second. Instead, he activated Byakugan to check the situation.

"Come on, Sasuke. You're going to love it. Don't you trust me?" Sakura said, holding his arm and pulling him towards the big door.

"I do, it's just…I hope it's worth it" he said, whining. Sakura laughed and leaned on his forearm, then looked up at him

"It's totally worth it" she said, smiling, and then kissed him. After pulling away, both smiled at each other. Sasuke nodded.

"Fine, let's go" he said to a grinning-like-crazy Sakura. He was starting to believe that this is some kind of a trick…or this wasn't Sakura. He shook his head and opened the door.

**Inside the mansion…**

"Ready….Ready….Ready…" Naruto repeated, until he was slapped on the back of the head by Kiba.

"Could you stop saying that? You sound like a freakin' parakeet!" he said, only to be cut by the sound of the clicking door. All of the guys and girls were ready to shout…

in 3, 2, 1…

"SURPRISE!!!" They all yelled, jumping out of their places. Lee blew on some kind of an annoying whistle while Chouji threw some confetti in the air. Sasuke, for once, was surprised, smiling sincerely.

"You guys didn't have to do that" he said, chuckling like a little boy, making the gang laugh.

"Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun" Hinata said, laughing. Everyone started greeting him, and then slowly started to go around the room to get different things. Ino was the last one in the group.

"Hey, Sasuke" she said, smiling. He turned to face her, smiling. "Oh, I-Ino…" he said, smiling back. She looked at the ground, blushing, and then looked up at him. "Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun, you've finally reached the age of 18, ne?" she said, grinning. He laughed.

"Yeah, we're growing too fast…" he said, chuckling. Ino nodded and looked down. He reached his hand to her chin and made her look at him. "Hey, are you ok?" he asked, worriedly. Ino smiled and took half a step back.

"Oh, yeah, I'm cool" she said, chuckling nervously. Sasuke simply nodded, looked to his left and then smiled at Ino.

"Sakura's calling me, thanks for being here, Ino. It means a lot to me" he said, nodding and walking off towards Sakura, leaving a very devastated yet happy Ino.

'_He's glad that I'm here….but…'_ she thought, looking at him and Sakura, flirting publicly. She nodded slowly and took a deep breath, walking away.

**A few minutes later…**

Everyone has gathered around the table, around the cake to be exact. Naruto was counting the heads. "9...10…Wait a second. There's supposed to be twelve heads in here!" he yelled, making everyone look at each other. Neji looked around.

"Your head is one!" Sasuke said, making the others chuckle. Naruto smirked, "Ok, there're only 11 head in this room" he exclaimed, counting again.

"Are you sure? Because you always miscount someone…or count twice" he said, crossing his arms. Sasuke looked around, "wait a second…" he said, making everyone look at him.

"Where's Ino??"

**A few blocks away from the Hyuuga mansion…**

'_No one had noticed my absence; I guess' _Ino thought as she walked alone in the dark street, holding her arms and looking at the ground. She couldn't take it, seeing Sasuke happily with someone else. It hurt her, she had her feelings that no one could understand. She had a feeling for the guy who, not even once, thought of her as more than friends. She reached for the little bridge above the river. While crossing it, Ino took a look at the river below. She smiled and walked towards the wooden railing, leaning on it. She liked how the river flowed endlessly, freely and beautifully, almost wishing to have a life that resembles this river. She narrowed her eyes; a single tear strolled down her cheek.

"What does Sakura have that I don't?" she said, burying her face in her hands and cried. She sobbed until she felt someone's presence on her side.

"Nothing, really. She's just some kind of a failed experiment of a Barbie doll" the person said, making Ino look up at them. The guy next to her stood with an emotionless expression on his face. Ino knew, this red hair, those killer looks and that tattoo only belonged to someone she new dearly. She chuckled and looked at the river again.

"Hey, Gaara…" she said, sobbing a bit. He scooted closer and draped his arm around her shoulder.

"Now, what's wrong with the flower girl today?" he asked, making her laugh.

Gaara has been their friend and a recurring visitor of Konoha ever since Naruto managed to save him out of the grip of Akatsuki. He has gotten really close to them, especially to Team 10… and Naruto.

She put a stray of her hair behind her ear, "nothing, It's just…nothing" she said, sighing. Gaara smirked and leaned his face in front of hers, tilting his head in the process and looking her in the eye.

"Well, that attitude won't work on me, missy. You were wondering what the difference between you and cotton candy was." He said, mocking Sakura's hair color again. Ino's lips curved slowly into a smile. Gaara was almost cheering.

"There ya go, that's what you have to do. You should always smile; you look beautiful when…you smile." He said, realizing what he said last. Ino looked at him, tears slowly forming in her eyes. He didn't look away; instead, he looked back with much passion and care.

"…what I meant was…well…You shouldn't compare yourself to others. You're a person on your own. Sakura is nothing compared to you…you've got my word" he said, smiling sincerely, and wiped the tears off of her cheek. Ino simply nodded as he held her in his arms as a reassuring gesture.

"Come on, now. It's not safe for you to stay out here for long. Your parents might get worried. I'll take you home, what do you say? " he said, pulling away from the hug. Ino smiled, in spite of the tears flowing like a river on her cheeks. "They're out of town…" she said, chuckling, making him laugh. Gaara wiped the tears away again, telling her not to cry, and walked with her.

**Yamanaka residence…**

Both of them walked silently, none of them speaking a word after they started their stroll towards Ino's house. Gaara looked at her and draped his arm around her shoulder. She looked at him, wondering what he has in mind. _'Gaara never does that unless there's something to be said.'_ She thought as she crossed her arms.

"Spill it out, Gaara. What is it?" she said, looking at him with the corner of her eye. He chuckled.

"Ah, nothing, just wondering where your house was..." He said, rubbing the back of his neck with the other hand. Ino shook her head, "we've known each other and yet you've never been to my place?" she asked, chuckling. He simply shook his head, making her sigh.

"It's over there…do you see that lit up banner? That's my house!" she said, pointing at its direction. Gaara narrowed his eyes and frowned.

"You live in a casino?" he blurted, earning a smack from Ino. He laughed out loud, making Ino laugh as well. In a few seconds they were in front of the house.

Gaara stood in front of her, smiling at Ino who was feeling a bit down. He sighed.

"Ino, Ino, Ino, Ino, Ino…If you stayed like that, you're going to be disappointed for the rest of your life. You don't deserve that, Ino" he said, putting his hands on her shoulder. She sighed and started sobbing silently. He shook his head and brought her closer to his chest, she clung to his chest, crying.

"C'mon, Ino, please…" he said, rubbing her back as she sobbed in his chest. She backed away, still clutching his dark-blue-soaked-with-tears shirt. He held her forearms, rubbing them slowly to make her relax; she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his chin, sighing heavily. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead, keeping his lips in contact with her forehead. She looked up to face him, raising her hands to the side of his face, tears strolling down her cheeks. He looked sincerely at her, he hated seeing her like this, she was always cheerful and happy, but ever since this day came closer, she became more devastated than before.

"Ino…" he whispered, taking a deep breath, and rested his hands on her waist. "…What can I do…to help you?" he asked, not knowing what he has offered to do. Ino looked at him, then at his lips and then claimed them with hers, kissing him with hunger yet with passion. Gaara was caught off guard but soon kissed her back, circling her waist and pulling her closer. Ino snaked her arms around his neck, and then moved them down to his chest, playing with the top button of his shirt before unbuttoning it. Gaara moved his hands to her cheeks, cupping her face.

He wasn't sure of what he was doing, but he was doing it for her, for Ino, for the girl he always cared for, for whom he would do anything to help through the times of need. He unconsciously slipped his tongue out, licking her lips before she let him in, moaning with pleasure. It wasn't long before she unbuttoned the second button of his shirt. Gaara, living the moment, moved his hands back to her waist and slipped them beneath her shirt, touching her navel with his right hand, making her breath get caught in her throat. He pulled away.

"Ino…" he said, panting. Ino looked up at him, playing with his hair. "…Please…Gaara…" she said, crying. "…just tonight…I need you…Gaara" she said, leaning her head on his chest. Her words making him have a mental battle. If he said yes, A) he would have the night of his life with the girl he cared for and B) he would help his friend in need. If he said no, A) he won't be able to do anything and B) She might do something to herself in that depressed state of hers. It was easy, he knew which choice he had to make.

He kissed the top of her head and hugged her tightly. "Ino…are you sure…this is what YOU want…" he said, leaving the choice to her. Ino didn't look at him; instead, she backed away, held his hand in hers and tugged on it a bit. She turned around, making Gaara slip his arm around her waist while she unlocked the door, getting both of them inside the house.

**(I HAVE TO SKIP-SKIP-SKIP!!! Leaving this part to your imagination)**

**Yamanaka Residence, 7:42am…**

Baby blue orbs slowly opened to the sound of birds, chirping and knocking on the window with their little peaks. After blinking several times, she got up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She clutched the blanket closer as soon as she figured out that she was naked, completely. Remembering last nights events, she and Gaara have apparently had a one night stand, that's what she called it. Ino wasn't a one-night-stand kind of girls, but it helped her forget about Sasuke for once. She looked around the room for a sign for the red-head that shared the night with her…

He was gone…

She looked to her right, where he'd slept, to find a small note on the pillow. She picked it up and unfolded it, reading the delicate handwriting…

_Ino…_

_If you found this note, then I'm not in the house. I had to leave, Suna-related business. I'll explain everything when I see you again, hopefully._

_I hope you're better this morning_

_Love_

_Gaara_

She didn't know why, but she was smiling when she read his words. Perhaps because he was her first to take her virginity or maybe because he was as good in words as he was in bed. Ino shook her head to get those thoughts out of it. She folded the note neatly and put it on the nightstand, got up and wrapped the blanket around her naked body, making her way to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she was wearing a red sleeveless shirt and black ¾ pants with black sandals, tied her hair in a high ponytail and picked up her equipments' bag. Ino took a good look at herself in the mirror before walking out of the bedroom and out of the door.

In a couple of minutes, she was in the flower shop, helping the customers pick the right kind of flowers for the right occasion. It's the one thing that helped her get over a lot of things. But every now and then, she keeps recalling the previous night's events. How he held her, how he kept reassuring her during the whole time, telling her it might hurt a bit, how he told her it's going to be alright, how he kissed her after it was all over.

'_It was a one night stand, Ino; he doesn't even think of you more than a friend'_

Ino took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, not noticing the person coming into the shop. She took another breath, but this time it was scented with a scent only one person wore…

'_Sasuke…'_ she thought, opening her eyes. Only to see the pink haired girl along with a couple of shopping bags.

"Hey, Ino, Good morning!" she cheerfully said, making Ino look away and roll her eyes. Sakura was the reason of her misery, the reason she was mourning over Sasuke, the reason that kept her up all night thinking about the Uchiha genius…

…The reason she had to sleep with Gaara the previous night…

Ino raised her eyebrows, "Hey, Sakura. How can I help you today?" she faked a smile. Sakura smiled, squeezing her eyes shut, and put the bags on the ground.

"Well, I don't want anything, but I came here because Sasuke couldn't come…" she said, smiling at Ino whose heart skipped a beat upon hearing Sasuke's name.

"Sasuke-kun…" she whispered, out of Sakura's hearing range, then looked at her "…why couldn't he?" she asked, absent-mindedly. Sakura was quiet for a couple of seconds, wondering what had caused Ino's reaction, and then smiled.

"He's training with Naruto. He wanted me to ask you where you were yesterday. You disappeared into thin air." Sakura exclaimed, waving her hands in the air. Ino smiled, looking at the ground. She thought. She's not going to be like 'Oh, Sakura, I had to leave because you stole Sasuke away so I ended up spending the night with Gaara." She had to make something up.

"Well…" she started, resting her index finger on her chin. "…I was a bit tired and the house was empty so I had to leave because I was afraid some kind of a burglar would come over and …you know" she blurted out, grinning at the end.

Sakura was silent. The tone which Ino spoke with was clearly a dishonest one, but who was she to judge. She smiled and nodded.

"Well, you missed a lot back there. Sasuke wanted to talk to you, he kept calling you but your phone would give him the disconnected signal" Sakura explained, crossing her arms. Ino looked at the counter and thought of the reason why the phone never rang the previous night. She smirked.

'_Oh yeah, we unplugged it…'_ she thought, shaking her head. "I m sorry, there might have been something wrong with the network, I'll make sure to check it out today." She said, smiling. Sakura nodded, bent down and picked the bags.

"Well, I should get going now. Sasuke might be waiting for me; I'm really getting the feeling this is going to be the best relationship I could ever have… See ya" she said, turning around and walking off the store. Ino waved at her, smiling on last time. When Sakura was gone, she slumped down on the chair and rested her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand, sighing heavily.

Ino, while waiting for more costumers to come by, started to think about her fellow team-mates, Shikamaru and Chouji. They always used to come by and make her laugh once in a while, but ever since Shikamaru started dating Temari, he stopped coming by. He was getting pretty occupied with her. Even Chouji, he probably found some girl he could hang out with, leaving his female team-mate behind.

"… I'm not seeing them that much these days…" she said, frowning, and looked at the clock, a few more hours to go till she could leave this shop.

**A few hours later…**

'_The last customer for me'_ she thought, sighing. After the woman had left, Ino took off her apron and hung it on the hanger next to some shelves. It's been a busy day ever since 10am for no reason. It was now 2pm and she was a bit tired of all the customers. The door opened to reveal Asuka, Ino's mom.

"Hey sweets, you can go home now. I'll take over" she said with a smile on her face, wrinkles have appears around her mouth and eyes, her hair was getting lighter by time. Ino smiled at her mother to whom she's always looked up, not only because she's her mother, but also because she's a great example of hardworking even with age.

"Ok, mom, Take care…see ya" Ino said, walking out of the door. She took a couple of steps then she heard a voice calling her.

"INO…!" Someone said, a male voice, a very familiar male voice. Ino turned around to see Sasuke, running in her direction. She grinned from ear to ear, seeing the young man she's always loved running in her direction.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" she said, blushing. She's always felt nervous around him, ever since he came back a couple of years ago, ever since he's grown into a fine young man. He ran a couple of steps before stopping almost a meter away from her.

"Ino…Hey" he said, breathing heavily. He then smiled at the glowing Ino. "How are you?" he asked, genuinely. She chuckled nervously. "I-I'm great, what about you?" she asked, moving her hand in his direction. He nodded, chuckling as well. "I'm great, um…Can I talk to you, on private…for a second?" he asked, looking at the ground. Ino's eyes widened.

'_Sasuke…wants to talk…privately?'_ she thought, grinning like crazy. But she removed that grin off her face when he looked back at her, raising his eyebrows and waiting for an answer.

Ino chuckled and fidgeted with her fingers a bit, then moved her hand to put the stray of her hair back behind her ear.

"Um, Sure…" she said, smiling. Sasuke nodded and walked past her, making her follow him.

**In one of Konoha's parks, in a secluded area…**

Sasuke took a couple of steps before stopping, making Ino stop. He didn't turn to face her.

"S-Sasuke-kun…Are you alright?" she said, worried, taking a couple of steps towards him, and touched his shoulder. He suddenly turned around and encircled her waist with his arms, making Ino gasp.

"Sasuke…" she whispered, not believing what was going on. He then, in one swift move, leaned closer and kissed her. Ino gasped, her eyes widened but soon she closed her eyes and kissed back, not realizing there were a couple of sea foam green eyes watching them. The eyes were narrowed as their owner stood up and jumped away.

Ino and Sasuke were having their own blissful moment, kissing passionately and…well, roughly, you might say. Ino snaked her arms around his neck as he leaned closer and deeper.

'…_Sasuke might be waiting for me, I'm really getting the feeling this is going to be the best relationship I could ever have…'_

Ino gasped and pulled away, taking a couple of steps away from Sasuke who was startled by her sudden action.

"W-What's wrong, Ino?" he asked, his eyebrows knotting. Ino, panting, shook her head. "I-I can't do this…" she said, covering her mouth. Sasuke took a deep breath and looked at her. "What the hell do you mean? I thought this is what you always wanted…"

"…I wanted it to be special… not in the middle of nowhere!" she yelled, tears strolling down her face. "…and I can't do this to her...I can't…" she said, running off, leaving a very shocked and disappointed Sasuke.

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**Stupid closure for this very short chapter, but anyways...tell me what you think so far.**

**Please review...**


	2. Chapter II

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. If I did, the pairing would already be settled and the show would be aired on YouTube everyday XD

Oh yeah, I'm starting a new story called "Prison break"… Yes, it's based on the TV series with the same name. Get ready for it!!!

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**Reviews' reply:**

**Kirri Kitty:** She's not going to be so mean; I'm kinda trying to make her even better, so people could feel sorry for her, teehee.

**Sasukeidiot:** hmm, smut? I'm not sure if I can define smut like you did, but whatever, hehehe, I'll probably add more. LOL. Thanks for your review, I'm really glad you liked it, I don't know, but I might change it to SasuIno, WHO KNOWS!!!! XD

**IshigoLover:** I'm glad you liked it, please, tune in for more, and nice nickname. Is it about ICHIGO the one in bleach? Cuz I love him too XD

**Neko-Chan:** I'm so glad you liked it; I'll be waiting for your review. Your nickname reminds me of Hitsugi of Naitomea cuz his nickname is Neko-Chan XD

**Cheese Maiden:** I'm humbled by your great review, thank you. I'm really glad you loved it; hope to see your review in this one as well.

**kikyouhater118:** hehehe, the other two would kill me if they heard that. Thank you for your review, I'm glad for it.

**BlazeJinx:** Gaara is THE one to have a one night stand with... hehehe. Thanks for your review

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Well, thank you guys for your reviews, I'm hopefully waiting for more.

Now, with no further adieu, let's start with the story.

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**That night, Chapter II:**

**July...**

Ino ran as fast as she could away from him, away from Sasuke. Her mind was telling her to run, her legs obeyed, but she had no idea where she was going. Tears were making their way down her cheeks, and scatter in the air as she ran.

'_Why am I running away, this is what I dreamed for ever since I was a kid, right?'_ she thought, stopping. She bent over, resting her hands on her knees and panted. Her tears fell on the ground. She reached for her cheek and wiped away the tears. She had no idea why she was crying, why she was running away.

"Perhaps I just need to…" she said, standing straight once more. She gasped when she saw, none other than Gaara, standing in front of her. Ino quickly turned around, avoiding his intense gaze. He called out her name, but she didn't turn around.

"Ino?" he said, walking closer to her. She maintained silence, not wanting him to know anything about what has happened. He extended his hand and rested it on her shoulder, turning her around slowly, and held her shoulders with both hands.

"What's wrong, Ino?" he asked, looking at her straight in the eye. She didn't look up at him, keeping her eyes glued to the ground.

"I-It's nothing, Gaara…" she said, resting her hand on his arm, moving it away. "It's nothing…" she continued, walking past him. A few seconds later, Gaara decided to speak up.

"What has happened between you…" he said, making her stop in her tracks. He continued, "…and Uchiha?" he said, not turning to face her. She froze in her place, but managed to open her mouth to speak up.

"W-What do you mean, G-Gaara?" she asked, turning around. He stood still, not turning around or saying a word. Two whole minutes have passed and she still hasn't got a reply from him.

Gaara remembered the event a moment ago:

_-Flashback-_

_He then, in one swift move, leaned closer and kissed her. Ino gasped, her eyes widened but soon she closed her eyes and kissed back, not realizing there were a couple of __sea foam green eyes watching them._

"_Ino!" he mumbled, not believing his own eyes. Yes, Gaara knew Ino hated Sakura for taking every hope of getting together with Sasuke away from her, but he never thought she'd do that, be kissing with him in a secluded place. He flinched; it hurt him for some reason. He took one last look at the couple, got up and jumped away._

_-End flashback-_

Ino stood there, looking at him as he mumbled something to himself. She narrowed her eyes.

"You were there, weren't you? Eavesdropping? Peeping on me with someone…"

"…With someone you're not supposed to be with!" he yelled back, turning around sharply. She froze in her place, tears forming in her eyes.

"You…" she started, closing her eyes. The tears slowly made their way down her cheeks, "…You have no right to tell me what to do!" she yelled, turning around and running away. He flinched and followed her.

"INO!" he yelled, making her stop for a second. She then shook her head and ran off, not listening to her name being called over and over again.

**August…**

"Ino, are you ok, sweetheart? You've been in there for like half an hour." the knock on the door made Ino lift her head up from the toilet. She got up and flushed it, went to the sink, turned the faucet on and moved her hands under the flowing water, splashing some on her face. The knock on the door persisted, making Ino groan and roll her eyes. She turned off the faucet, wiped her face with a nearby towel, Walked towards the door, and jerked it open.

"What is it you want, Mother?" she yelled before pausing, realizing her mistake. Ino looked at her feet in shame, "I'm sorry, mom." She said, sighing. Ino's mom smiled and hugged her daughter.

"I was just worried about you, sweetheart. You've taken a long time in there" she said, smiling. Ino chuckled.

"I was feeling a bit sick, that's all…" she said, looking at her mother with a different expression on her face, a happy one. "…I'll be in my room, if you need me" she said, walking off.

**Ino's bedroom…**

She went into her bedroom and threw herself on the bed. Ino closed her eyes and relaxed her muscles. She's been sick for the past couple of days and she didn't know the reason. She rolled over to her side, her eyelids feeling heavy; Ino closed her eyes and fell asleep.

**A couple of hours later…**

"Ino…Ino sweetie, come on get up!" she heard the voice tell her. Slowly opening her eyes, Ino came face to face with her pink-haired friend. Ino gasped, Sakura was in her bedroom. Ino hadn't forgotten what she had done to her. Even if Sakura didn't know, it still haunted Ino, the fact that she kissed her friend's boyfriend, the friend that always trusted her. She shook off the thoughts and quickly sat up straight, almost slamming her head against her friend's.

"Whoa, I'm sorry…" Ino said, raising her hands in defense. Sakura chuckled, waving her hand in front of her.

"Don't apologize; it's my fault for waking you up like that" she said, smiling. Ino chuckled and nodded, then titled her head to the side, rubbing the sleep off her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Ino asked, yawning. Sakura got up, pulling Ino out of the bed and pushed her into the bathroom, turning on the faucet.

"We're going shopping, silly…" Sakura exclaimed, hopping up and down. Ino chuckled and shook her head. "…Come on! Let's go. Wash up, get ready and I'll meet you downstairs." Sakura said, ruffling Ino's hair, making the blonde snigger. She walked away, leaving Ino to freshen up.

In a few minutes, Ino managed to get dressed in a pair of 3/4 dark blue jeans, a hot-pink sleeveless shirt and a light green hooded jacket. She tied her hair in a pony tail and wore white shoes.

"What is she doing here?" she asked herself, sadly. The thoughts of the kiss flashed through her head, making her shake it. She wondered how she would be able to face Sakura. The thought itself gave her goose bumps.

Taking one last look at her in the mirror, Ino skipped her steps downstairs

**Downstairs, Yamanaka residence…**

"So, it's just you and me, huh?" Ino asked, crossing her arms. Sakura shook her head, putting her hands behind her back.

"No, Tenten is bringing Neji along. Poor guy…" she said, making both of them feel sorry for the older Hyuuga of the second generation. Everyone knew Neji wasn't the shopping type of guys, It's just Tenten was trying to make him smile or feel more like a human by taking him everywhere with her.

"…Why don't you invite Gaara? He'd have a great time with us. That'll keep him off work for a while." She said, smiling. Ino went pale at the sound of his name. She'd be more than glad to have him with them, but a certain circumstance that happened between the two changed the plans, not to mention the fact that she yelled at him almost a month ago, also, the fact that they haven't spoken ever since made Ino feel sorry for herself.

"Uh, I think he would too busy…what in the world are you doing?" she changed the subject as soon as she saw the pink-haired girl holding her cell phone, pressing the buttons quickly and put the phone on her ear. As soon as the line was picked up on the other side…

"Here…" she said, passing the phone to her blonde friend who quickly put it on her ear as soon as she heard a voice on the other side…

"Nara, if that's you. I'll kill you…you hear me?!"

**A few minutes earlier…**

"Hey, Earth to Gaara. Are you in there?" Kankurou said, munching on the apple in his hand. His voice brought back his brother from his thoughts. Kankurou finished his apple and threw it right in the basket. Smirking at his brother and crossing his arms, Kankurou eyed his brother.

"A penny for your thoughts...If I had it, I'd be a billionaire" he said, leaning down and coming face to face with Gaara.

"Say, who is she, How does she look and where does she live? Is she cute? Perhaps hot! You little player, you…" he said, flicking his brother's forehead with his middle finger, making the younger push him away.

"Oh, grow up, Kankurou!" He said, getting up and walking towards the fridge, picking up a carton of orange juice and poured himself a cup he picked from the upper glasses' shelf. A few seconds later, the phone rang.

"I'LL GET IT!!!" Temari said, running from her room. She jumped across the couch, reaching for the phone when Kankurou, calmly, picked up the phone.

"Hello..." he said, waiting for an answer. "Hello?" no reply. He could almost make out faint voices in the background. Kankurou narrowed his eyes and looked at his sister.

"Nara, if that's you. I'll kill you…you hear me?!" he yelled at the phone handset, when a small female voice said back.

"Uh, hello?" he heard. Kankurou's eyebrows knotted. "Uh, who's this?" he asked, in more of a gentlemen's tone.

"Oh, Kankurou, I-It's me, Ino…" she said, stuttering. Kankurou chuckled.

"Hey, Blondie, how's it hangin'? Haven't heard of ya for, what, three years?" he asked, resting his fist on his waist. Temari glared at him. Knowing it wasn't her beloved Nara Shikamaru, she walked in back to her room.

"Very funny, Kankurou, Is Gaara around?" she asked. Kankurou could clearly since the tension in her voice, making him chuckle.

"Yeah, hang on a sec…" he said, resting his hand on the phone. "Gaara, it's for you…" he said, throwing the phone at him. Gaara quickly caught it and shook his head. Kankurou understood the gesture.

"…it's your girl…" he said, walking past him. Gaara knotted his eyebrows **(A/N: again, he has none)** and looked at the speaker before putting it on his ear.

'_My girl? I don't have a girl!'_ Gaara thought. "Hello?" he asked. His face lit up when he heard the voice on the other side.

"G-Gaara… Hey, it's Ino here…" she said, stuttering. He smiled, ever since that night, he wanted to talk to her yet he couldn't, wondering if she wanted to talk to him ever again.

"Ino, it's been a while" he said, walking towards the couch and sitting down. He didn't expect her to call, not after everything that has happened between them a couple of weeks ago.

On the other side, Ino chuckled. Sakura was watching her every move. She kept pacing back and forth while talking on the phone. _'Why is she nervous? I thought he was her closest friend'_

"Yeah, listen…" she started, changing the subject. "…Sakura and I are going out. SHE suggested we take you with us. Wanna come?" she asked, biting her bottom lip. Gaara chuckled.

"Depends on where you girls are going" he said, smirking. She laughed.

"Well, we're going shopping" she said, shrugging her shoulders. Sakura crossed her fingers.

Gaara on the other side was thinking of two choices: A, Stay here and do more paper work or B, Get the hell out of here, be a gentleman and go shopping with the girls, plus, to him; being close to Ino was A LOT better than working. Gaara didn't have to take much time to make the right choice.

"Alright, where would I meet you girls?" he asked, getting up. Ino on the other side had her eyes widened, he was going and she didn't like it.

"Well…we'll meet you…" she said, gesturing to Sakura to tell her where. "Mall!!" she whispered out loud. Ino chuckled.

"..At the mall, go and we'll meet you there" she said, trying to sound as cheerful as ever. Gaara laughed on the other side.

"Sure, I'll be there in a sec. see ya then" and with that, he hung up and threw the phone next to him on the couch. Gaara smiled and leaned his head back and then quickly got up to get ready.

Ino hung up as soon as she heard him hang up. Sakura jumped up and down.

"So, He's going isn't he?" Sakura said, clasping her hands together. Ino sighed, "Yeah, He'll be here in a sec. Why are you too excited about this?" Ino asked, making Sakura shrug her shoulders, "Dunno!" she said, smiling. Ino shook her head, "Let's go, I need some fresh air." She said, putting a hand on her stomach. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, you ok? Come to think of it, you kinda look pale!" she asked. Ino shook her head.

"I'm fine. C'mon, let's go" she said, walking past her friend and out the door. Sakura soon followed.

**At the mall…**

Sakura and Ino were about to go inside the mall when they heard their names being called. They turned around to see Gaara, looking as good as always.

"Hey, Gaara. Good to see you…" Sakura said, hugging him. "It's been a while. You've been working a lot lately!" she said, lightly pushing him. He chuckled.

"Yeah, a little bit. It's good to see you too, both of you" he said, smiling, and then looked at Ino who was looking away. Sakura noticed that he was staring at her so she figured he might want to talk to her alone.

"Well, I'll be inside if you guys need me" she whispered to Gaara and winked. She looked at Ino and smiled, walking inside. Ino kept looking at Sakura until she went inside, not wanting to look at Gaara in the eye. He, getting the feeling that she was nervous around him, took a step closer and titled his head to face her.

"Are you ok?" he asked, making her look at him. She then quickly looked at the ground. "Yeah, I-I'm ok" she said, keeping her eyes glued to the ground. Gaara lifted her head up with his hand.

"Ino…I don't want things to be awkward between us…"

"…It's not..." she said, holding his hand and pushing it away. "I-I'm sorry, I'm not in the best mood today" she said, rubbing her forehead. Gaara nodded, "You don't even look like you're in your best mood. You look sick" he said, chuckling. She looked up at him, "Yeah, thank you very much for the complement. That made me feel much better" she said, sarcastically. He laughed.

"C'mon, you, let's get inside. You don't want Sakura to wait, do you?" he said, draping his arm around her shoulder like he always did. She chuckled, though she was a bit nervous. They both walked inside to meet with Sakura.

**Konoha Mall…**

Ino was in some sort of trance since she's been out of it for the past couple of weeks. Ino herself didn't know what was going on.

"I think it's best for you to go home. I'll get you there…" Gaara said, holding her forearm.

"No, I'm ok" she snapped at him, making him gulp. _'Wow, she IS in a bad mood.'_ He thought as he let go of her arm. As soon as he did, she was overbalanced and fell in his arms.

"Shit, Ino…" he said, helping her on her feet. She quickly recovered and put her hand on her forehead. "I'm fine…" she mumbled, getting up. "…I'm fine, don't worry" she said, shaking her head. Ino looked at Gaara who had a worried expression on his face. "I said I'm fine. You don't need to go soft on me" she said firmly and walked off, making the young man follow her.

On their way to meet the others, Ino was thinking, her eyes moved to the ground. _'Morning sickness, dizziness, anger fits…could it be…?'_ she thought, narrowing her eyes. When she looked up, she saw Sakura, along with Neji and Tenten…and a fourth person. Ino stopped in her tracks, making Gaara look at her, checking what's wrong.

"Why did you stop…?" he asked and looked where she was going. Along with the other three stood none other than Sasuke. Both of them narrowed their eyes on him for two different reasons.

"Ino…" Gaara started, wondering whether she wants to go shopping with them or not. She looked at Gaara and then back at the four.

"There's no need to keep them waiting…" she said, taking a few steps towards them, followed by Gaara.

As soon as Sakura spotted them, she waved her hand in the air. "Hey guys! Over here…" she said in a high-pitched tone. Neji crossed his arms, "They can clearly see you, Sakura. You don't have to act like you're hundreds of kilometers away" he exclaimed, only to be nudged hard in the stomach by Tenten, making him clutch it. "Can't you be a bit polite?" she asked, resting her hands on her hips. Neji narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not obligated to listen to anything you say." he calmly said, turning his head to the other side, crossing his arms in the process. Tenten shook her head. "You' d better listen to me or else I'm going to tell everyone that you're three months minus six days younger than me…which makes YOU obligated to listen to me because I'm older than you…weren't you taught that as a child? Listen to older people, that is?" she said, smirking. Neji looked at her, more like Glared at her.

"I am STILL not obligated to listen to you." he said as calm as he always did. "…because you're such a baby. Though you're old, granny-chan!" he added silently. Tenten was able to hear him but ignored since Gaara and Ino had gotten here already.

"Will you two stop it? Stop acting like Children and grow up, you're 17 for god's sake" Sakura said, raised her fist in their faces. Tenten gulped while Neji just turned his head to the side, mumbling something.

Ino laughed at their reaction, making everyone else laugh, excluding Sasuke who was staring at Ino with a dangerous look, thankfully, no one noticed. Sakura giggled and clasped her hands.

"Ok, let's start shopping. There're LOTS of things to buy." She said, looking at the rest of the gang.

Ino shook her head, "…and I'm supposed to be the fashion freak in this team…" she mumbled, catching Gaara's attention. He chuckled and turned his head to the other side. Everyone started moving, following a very hyper Sakura. Ino was the last to walk, following Gaara. She gently tabbed on his shoulder.

"Yes?" he said, turning his head to the side. She glued her eyes to the ground. "Um…I…I want to apologize…" she said, fiddling with her fingers. His lips curved to the side, forming a small smile. "Why?" he asked, putting his hands behind his back. She chuckled and kept her eyes to the ground, she then moved them to his.

"I want apologize for yelling at you a couple of weeks ago. It's just that I've been acting differently towards you, and everyone else. I don't know why…" she said, lying about that part. Well, not totally lying because she wasn't sure if she was…

"…You don't have to apologize." He said, cutting her thoughts. "We all have our good and bad days. It's natural." He said, smiling sincerely. She nodded slowly and smiled back as everyone else followed Sakura towards the shops. Gaara unconsciously slipped his arm around her shoulder. Ino smiled and circled her arm around his waist, following the others.

**A couple of hours later…**

"Antiques shop?" Neji exclaimed with a puzzled look on his face. Sakura wasn't the type of girls to collect antiques. He was definitely puzzled.

"Yeah, I like antiques" Sakura said, smiling. "Sounds interesting, I wonder if they have any ancient secret undiscovered scrolls" Tenten said with an expression similar to the expression of a baby after finding a lollipop. She walked inside, followed by everyone else except for Ino and Sasuke.

As soon as Ino took on step inside the shop, she was pulled out and a couple of feet away from the shop. "What the…" something made her turn around to face someone. It was Sasuke.

"We need to talk..." he said, his breath hitting her face. Goose bumps formed on her skin as he looked deep into her eyes. "A-About what?" she gulped. He looked down and then looked up at her.

"About what happened between us…" he said, taking a step closer, making her take a step backwards.

"Sasuke, I don't think there's anything to talk about." she said, resting her hands on his chest and pushing him away. "But I need to talk to you" he said, reaching out for her arm and pulled her closer. Ino winced at his hard grip on her arm.

"Sasuke, please…I don't want to talk now." She said, narrowing her eyes, and walked towards the shop. He looked at the floor.

"But I love you, Ino!" Sasuke said, making Ino stop in her track.

She turned around slowly, not believing what he had said.

"W-What did you just say?" Ino said, stuttering. He took a deep breath, looking at her, smiling sarcastically. He himself didn't believe what he was saying.

"I love you, Ino." he repeated. Ino stood in her place, jaw dropped and heart pounding almost outside her chest. She wasn't sure if she heard it right. But she heard it anyways.

'_Uchiha Sasuke… L-Loves me?'_ she thought. Both of them were lost in each other's eyes, not noticing that both Sakura and Gaara were at the antiques shop door, not knowing that those two have witnessed the whole thing.

**To be continued…**

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**Second chapter… done.**

**It's a short chapter but what do ya think? More SasuIno in this chapter…Nyahahahaha!!!! I'm evil.**

**Please review and tell me what you think.**


	3. Chapter III

Third chapter is here. How I was longing to write the Reply for the reviews this time XD

Oh yeah, Gaara is not the Kazekage here. He's still just a 'Suna no Shinobi da'

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**Reviewers reply: **

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**Itsumo Neko:** I'm glad you like it. Thank you for your review!

**Kaylea Ann:** I'll try to update as soon as I can cuz next week I'm having my exams at school so I might get too busy. But I'll try as hard as I can. Thank you for your review, I'm glad you liked it.

**kikyouhater118:** ha-ha, I'm glad you love it. I'll update as soon as I can.

**Random advisor:** First, Characters are OOC, so what? I like them OOC. I can make them OOC or not. Second, it's SAKURA, not SUCKRA! Third, I'm not intending to make this SakuGaara or SasuIno. If you read the story or even the summary, you would've known that it's a GaaraIno. Fourth, you're not the one to decides who's going to win, other reviewers will, plus, we don't care who wins. We're having fun doings this and it doesn't matter who wins as long as people like our stories and from that, decide who wins this thing. Thank you for your "random" advice but I didn't benefit from it so, I don't need it.

**Itsumo Neko:** Yeah, well, I'm glad you guys liked it. I never even considered having SasuIno in this one, but I liked the thought of it, teehee.

**Cheese Maiden:** You should know for my nickname that I'm evil. Nyahahahaha!! I actually didn't consider the 'fight for Ino' thingy, but it's a great Idea. Thanks for reviewing!

**Lunagurl:** you got it, girl! Thank you for your review

**BlazeJinx:** you'll find out the reason soon enough. Thanks for your review XD

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THIRD CHAPTER is going out to everyone who liked the story. This is for you guys; I couldn't have done it without you and your great support.

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**Previously: **

_She turned around slowly, not believing what he had said. _

_"W-What did you just say?" Ino said, stuttering. He took a deep breath, looking at her, smiling sarcastically. He himself didn't believe what he was saying. _

_"I love you, Ino." he repeated. Ino stood in her place, jaw dropped and heart pounding almost outside her chest. She wasn't sure if she heard it right. But she heard it anyways. _

_'Uchiha Sasuke… L-Loves me?' she thought. _

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**That night, Chapter III:**

Ino stood still, not knowing what to do. Should she go back inside the shop, or should she tell Sasuke that she returns the feeling. _'What about Sakura?'_ she thought, looking at the ground.

Gaara was still there with Sakura, looking at the pair exchange looks, before the blonde girl looked at the ground. He gritted his teeth and his hands balled into fists as he watched Sasuke take a step closer to her. Sakura looked at the pair before walking inside the shop with Gaara being so angry to notice her absence.

"Ino…" he said, taking another step forward. The girl looked up, seeing that with each step, he was getting closer to her.

"Sasuke, wait…" she said, stopping him in his tracks. Gaara turned to look at Sakura but didn't find her. He shook his head and went inside to look for Sakura, leaving Ino and Sasuke all alone.

Gaara walked in, looking around for a sign of the pink haired girl. He spotted Neji and Tenten, checking some miniature statues on one of the shelves. He walked to where they were.

"Neji, Tenten…" he started, making the two turn around. Tenten smiled.

"Hey, Gaara…" she said, noticing that he had a serious look on his face, "...What's wrong?" she said, Gaara looked around.

"Have you seen Sakura?" he asked. Neji shook his head. "No, ever since all of us went here, I haven't seen anyone of you around except for Tenten here" he said, crossing his arms. Gaara nodded and walked off, waving at the two.

"Ok, Thanks." He said, walking off.

**A couple of minutes later…**

Gaara frustratingly sighed, the shop was bigger than he expected. He looked left and right for Sakura, but he couldn't find her.

"Where are you, Sakura?" he said, sighing. A tap on his shoulder made him turn around.

"Sakura, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" he said, worriedly. Sakura opened her mouth to speak when…

"GAARA! NEJI!" a male voice yelled, making everyone in the shop turn their head to the source of the sound. Sakura and Gaara looked at each other.

"Sasuke!" they both said, before running outside the shop to see Sasuke, sitting on the floor with an unconscious Ino in his arms. Gaara ran to his side.

"What the hell happened?" he said, kneeling down next to him. Sasuke shook his head.

"I don't know, we were talking when she suddenly collapsed." He said, nervously. Gaara took Ino out of his arms and carried her, getting up.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for? You should've taken her to a freakin' hospital!" Gaara angrily said, running off with Ino in his arms. Sakura looked at Sasuke, narrowing her eyes. He looked back at her with a quizzical look on his face.

"Do something useful and go call Neji and Tenten, tell them about what happened" she said, running off after Gaara.

**A couple of minutes later…**

Gaara had dropped Ino at the hospital before sitting down in the waiting room with Sakura, Sasuke, Neji and Tenten. Ino's mom came running into the hospital. She looked at the guys and walked towards them.

"Where's Ino?" she asked, worriedly, holding her hand against her chest. Sasuke sighed.

"We just got her here. The doctor is taking a look at her now" he said, looking at the ground. Sakura got up and went to Ino's mom, helping her to sit down instead of her.

"She'll be fine, I'm sure she's just exhausted from lack of sleep" she said, reassuring Ino's mom who nodded silently.

"I know. It's just that…she's been sick for the past couple of days…" she said, making Gaara look at her quizzically.

"…I wonder what's wrong with her. I hope it's nothing serious" she said, shaking her head. A few silent minutes had passed before the doctor came out of the room, a couple of feet away.

"Is Yamanaka Ino's family here?" the doctor said, looking around. Her mother got up.

"I'm her mother. Is she ok, Doctor?" she asked, walking closer to the doctor. He nodded, "she's fine, but, I need to talk to you for a second. Please, come to my office." He said, pointing his hand in the other direction, making Ino's mom follow him.

Neji was leaning on the wall, crossing his arms when Tenten walked closer to him, looking blue.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked, draping his arm on her shoulder and pulling her closer in a hug, she hugged him back.

"Yeah, I'm ok, it's just I'm worried about her. I mean, she was fine a couple of days ago-"

"-no…" Gaara cut her sentence short. Tenten pulled away from Neji's hug and looked at him. Everyone diverted their attention to him.

"…She wasn't looking good when we first arrived to the mall" he said, remembering Ino's pale face this morning. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his legs, interlocking his fingers together, he leaned his head on them. Sakura, who was sitting next to him, nodded.

"Yeah, when I arrived at home at 1pm and she was still asleep. It's not like Ino to stay in bed till noon" she said, looking at Gaara who was in some sort of a trance.

_'She couldn't be…could it?'_ he was thinking of the possibilities, of the reasons why she was sick and only one thought kept popping in his head.

_'Is she…pregnant?'_

**The doctor's office… **

"Please, have a seat" the doctor politely told Ino's mom who silently obeyed. The doctor went behind is desk and sat down, interlocking his fingers together and leaning them on the table.

"Yamanaka-san…" he started, making Ino's mom tighten the grip on her own hand. She knew it was bad news, whenever someone starts a conversation like that, it's always bad news.

The doctor sighed, "…I need to ask you a question…" he said, raising his hands and rested his chin on them.

**A couple of minutes later…**

Gaara, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji and Tenten all froze still when Ino's mom came out of the doctor's office. She had the most frightening expression on her face. Gaara gulped.

_'Something bad…'_ he thought, getting up. Ino's mom kept her eyes glued to the ground as she walked past the worried group and towards the Hospital's main door. They all exchanged quizzical looks as Gaara decided to speak up.

"Yamanaka-san!" he said, taking a step forwards. Ino's mom stopped, turning her head to the side. The automatic door of the hospital opened.

"I…I don't…" she said, shaking her head. "…How?" she said, walking towards the opened door before it closed after walking out. Gaara's eyebrows knotted.

"Yamanaka-san!!" Gaara yelled, but she never turned around. Neji walked to Gaara's side.

"Do you have any Idea what happened?" he asked, making the red head turn to face him. "Yeah, a pretty good Idea about everything…" he said, sarcastically. "Of course I have no freakin' Idea about what happened, I was here with you guys all the time!" he yelled, losing his nonchalance.

Neji crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow as soon as the red-head finished his speech. Gaara sighed, "I'm sorry, Neji." he said, receiving an understanding nod from the Hyuuga.

"I know how you feel. She's your closest friend and I'm sure you're, just like us, wondering what happened." He said, calmly. "But we can always ask the doctor." He continued, hearing footsteps behind his back.

"I don't think so…" Sakura started, standing along with the two. "…patients' information is confidential so you might have a problem getting the information out of him." she said, looking back and forth between the two. Gaara gritted his teeth.

"I can always get information out of him…" he raised his fist, but managed to control himself after getting a look from Neji. Everyone stood silent for a moment, thinking about what happened.

"Where is Ino?" Sasuke asked, making everyone look at him, a certain person of the group was glaring. He stood still, keeping his eyes glued to the ground and his hands glued into his pockets. He slowly raised his vision to meet Gaara's, his left eye unconsciously twitched.

"She's still in the check room" a male voice said, they all turned around to see the doctor. "If you want you can go see her, but I prefer only one visits her-"

"-I will!" both Sasuke and Gaara said at the same time. Sakura's eyes were wide open, seeing that her boyfriend was more interested in being with Ino than being with her. She shook her head and walked off, silently. Neji turned his head to the side, noticing her walking away. He shook his head and moved his attention back to the guys.

Gaara glared at Sasuke who acted as cool as ever, like nothing has happened. The doctor was about to say something when…

"I believe Gaara should see her, because he's her best friend" Neji said, making the rest of the gang look at him. Gaara lips curved a bit while Sasuke smirked, turning his head to the other side. Tenten nodded in agreement.

"Alright well, please follow me" he said, walking towards his office. Gaara looked at Sasuke and smirked before walking after the doctor.

Neji was observing the whole situation. In fact, he was watching the whole situation with Ino and Sasuke in the mall using his Byakugan.

_Flashback_

_Sasuke took a step closer towards Ino who asked him to stop, their bodies inches apart. "Ino…" he started, raising his hand to touch her cheek. Ino closed her eyes, loving the feeling he gave her whenever he's close. He cupped her cheek and drew his face closer to hers. _

_"Why did you run away the last time?" he asked with a blank expression on his face. Ino shook her head. "… You said you wanted it to be special…" he said, smirking. Ino raised her head up. "Not that-" _

_"-You didn't want to hurt her? I thought you always despised Sakura. If that's who you're talking about…" he said, shaking his head. Ino looked at him with a disbelief look on her face. _

_"What are you talking about?" she said, slapping his hand away. "She's your girlfriend, the one who helped you all along, the only one of us who cared about you when you left, you won't believe how happy she was when you first asked her out." She said, throwing her hand to the side. _

_"…She was very happy, saying that she feels that this relationship would last forever and that's what you think of her, think of the only person who loved you for who you are?" she yelled, making most of the passersby look with a glare. Sasuke was looking to the side, his eyes glued to the ground. Ino smirked, "You have nothing to say, do you?" she asked, shaking her head, and sniggered. _

_"If you don't care about her, why did you date her in the first place?" she yelled, making him reply with the same tone. _

_"Because I couldn't get you, Ino!" he yelled back, making her freeze in her place. Ino looked at the ground and shook her head. _

_"That's not a logical explanation. You shouldn't have done it, Sasuke…" she said, turning around. "Besides, I…" she said, turning her head. _

_"…I don't want to be with you anymore" she said, taking a couple of steps before stopping in her track. Sasuke smirked. _

_"I'm gonna make you mine, Ino-chan" he said, walking closer to her. Ino put her hand on her head and closed her eyes, feeling dizzy all of the sudden. _

_"Sasuke…kun" she said, tripping backwards and into his arms. "Whoa, Ino!" he said, holding her shoulders. "Are you ok?" he asked, turning her around. Ino was pale, making Sasuke worried about her. She suddenly collapsed in his arms and Sasuke didn't know what to do, he shook his head and raised it, he had to ask for a certain red-head's help… _

_"GAARA! NEJI!" _

_End flashback_

After witnessing the whole situation, Neji never thought Sasuke would cheat on Sakura or even try to. He wondered whether something big happened between the two before the mall incident.

His thoughts were cut when he felt a tug on his arm, making him turn his head to the side. Tenten looked at him and smiled.

"C'mon, let's go. Gaara is going to spend the whole day with her. We're probably going to be able to see her tomorrow" she said, laughing. Neji nodded, "yeah, you're probably right…" he said, looking to the side, at Sasuke. He narrowed his eyes before looking back at Tenten.

"Ok, let's go home" he said, holding her hand and walking off, pulling her along. She looked behind her and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, where's Sakura?" she asked, looking at her dark haired boyfriend. He shook his head. "She left a few seconds ago." He said, looking at her. Tenten nodded before the two walked out of the hospital, leaving Sasuke all alone.

Sasuke stood still, not moving at all. He watched Gaara as he was led by the doctor towards the room Ino's in. he narrowed his eyes.

_'Gaara, who the hell do you think you are?'_ he thought, smirking, _'…Ino's not yours, she'll be mine'_ he thought, walking off, not paying the slightest attention that his girlfriend was gone.

**Doctor's office…**

The doctor led Gaara inside the office and pointed at the closed door on the other side of the wall.

"She's in there" he said, smiling. Gaara nodded and slowly made his way towards the closed door. He knocked twice before hearing her voice.

"Come in" she faintly said. Gaara turned the door knob and walked in, his head peeking from the side of the door. Ino was sitting at the medical bed, resting her hands on her sides and looking at the ground; her green hooded jacket was taken off and put on the side, leaving her in her sleeveless pink shirt and jeans. She looked up and smiled when she saw him.

"Hey…" she started, smiling nervously. Gaara sensed her tension, walked in and closed the door behind him. He walked slowly towards her.

"Are you ok? We were all worried about you out there!" he said, waving his hand in the door's direction. She chuckled.

"Y-yeah, I was worried myself." She said, looking to the side. Gaara knotted his eyebrows.

"Ino…" he started, raising his hand to her chin and slowly turning her head to face him. Her eyes never met his. "Did the doctor say what's wrong?" he asked, worriedly. She paused for a minute before slowly nodding. "Yes, he did. Well, you can call it assumption" she said, chuckling. He narrowed his eyes, _'assumption? What does she mean by that?'_

She looked at him with a serious expression on her face; tears were slowly strolling down her cheek when she quickly wiped them away, getting up. She reached for hooded jacket and quickly wore her jacket. Gaara was startled.

"What is it…" he started, looking at her in the eye, "…Ino?" he continued, sounding very anxious. Ino stopped after zipping her jacket. Gaara feared that his thoughts were coming true. _'Could it be…'_ he thought as she raised her vision to his chest. Ino raised her hand and played with the button of his shirt.

"Gaara…" she said, sadly. "…we should…stop seeing each other for a while…" she said, not daring to look at him in the eye. Gaara held her shoulders. "What are you talking about, Ino? What's wrong? What did I do?" he said, tightening his grip on her shoulders.

"Please, Gaara, you'll know soon enough" she said, moving her hand to his and moved it away, walking towards the door. Gaara turned around.

"Ino…" he started, making her stop, "…is it what I think it is?" Gaara continued, waiting for her reply. She lowered her head, her blonde locks framing her face.

A couple of seconds passed and none of the two spoke a word. Gaara knew, it was true; she was, just like he thought…

_'…She is.'_ he thought, taking a couple of steps until he was behind her. She didn't move, not even when he circled his arms around her shoulders, holding her into a hug. She leaned back; her tears flowed down her cheeks like a river. She gulped, making him rest his head on her right shoulder.

"I'll be here for you, Ino." he said, burying his head in her shoulder. Ino sobbed when she heard his words and nodded slowly. The couple stayed in that position for a couple of minutes, just standing silently.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, moving away from his chest while he moved his arms back to his side. Ino, still had her back to him, looked up, sighing heavily.

Gaara thought about it for a minute, and then he asked her the question she never wanted to hear.

"What are you going to do with the baby?" he said, crossing his arms. She turned around, facing him with a stern look on her face.

Ino took a deep breath, and smiled. "I guess I'm going to keep it…" she said, looking down at her stomach and chuckling.

"…This is going to be one hell of a challenge, don't you think?" she asked, looking at him. He nodded slowly.

"Yeah…" he looked at her stomach, then back at her face. "You said it was an assumption, but are you-"

"-I'm positive about it, Gaara…" She cut him, making him look at the ground. "…I've been feeling dizzy and having morning sicknesses for the past couple of weeks, and I'm craving for the craziest things, not to mention that I'm late" She said, throwing her hands in the air. Gaara looked at her and narrowed his eyes.

"Does your mother know?" he asked, leaning back at the bed. She looked at the ground. "…because when she came out of the room she looked a bit shocked. I figured she might've known" he said, calmly. Ino's expression changed into a gloomy one.

"She knows…" she said, sighing heavily. "…I-I don't know how I'm going to face her again." she said, burying her face in her hands, sobbing lightly.

Gaara looked at the ground and felt sorry for Ino. Perhaps because not only was this her fault, but also his, if it wasn't his entirely. As he looked back, he took advantage of her in a situation he shouldn't have. She was emotional and stressed at that time, yet he chose to sleep with her than to calm her down in a normal friendly way, he got too friendly with her. Gaara tightened his fists and gritted his teeth, _'this wouldn't have happened if I didn't act like a total jerk'_ he thought, not long before he felt a light pressure on his chest. It was Ino, sobbing onto his chest. He was startled, but gently wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a warm embrace.

"Ino…" he said, caressing her hair. "Hush now…" his words made her sob even harder, making her push herself fully close to him. He didn't know what to do, he thought, just standing there and holding her close would do. Until she raised her head, their faces inches apart.

"You…" she sobbed, "we…we're in t-this tog-together, right?" she sobbed, tears strolling down her cheeks. He nodded, leaning his forehead on hers, making her close her eyes.

"Yes, together. I'll help you, Ino." he said, raising his head and resting his chin on the top of her head, embracing her lovingly.

"I promise you, Ino…" he said, closing his eyes. A single tear went down his cheek silently. "…I promise".

**The Next day…**

It was 6:30 am and Gaara was fully dressed, sitting on his bed, looking silently out of the window. He sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"Am I ready for this?" he asked himself, looking down at his hands which were rested on his lap. "I would be ready if they asked me to leading a whole village, but this…" he mumbled, closing his hands and tightening his grip "…I don't know if I'm ready for this." He said, getting up. As soon as he did, his phone rang. He quickly picked it up.

"Ino." he said, predicting her to call. "…I told mom you're coming over…" she said, sounding tired, making him wince a bit. "I'm coming in a few" he firmly said. As soon as he heard the click on the other side, he hung up, taking a deep breath and walking out.

"I hope this goes well…" he mumbled, remembering the deal he made with Ino the previous night.

_Flashback…_

_Ino and Gaara left the hospital and were going straight to her house. She was spacing out a lot, her eyes glued to the ground while Gaara walked by her side, hands in his pockets. The couple passed a small bench on one of the streets, Ino unconsciously sat down, making Gaara stop walking for a second. _

_"Are you tired?" he asked, turning around and facing her, kneeling in front of her. Ino rested her hands on the bench and sighed deeply, shaking her head. "No…my brain stopped functioning for a second" she said, laughing. Gaara knew that laugh wasn't a real one, she was only trying to change the silent, stressful mood they have been in for the last couple of minutes. _

_"Then you should take a break for a second and get things out of your head" he said, tilting his head to the side, smiling. Ino chuckled and looked down, sighing. Gaara sat there, admiring her features. Her blonde hair falling loose out of her low ponytail, framing her pure face, her baby blue eyes glued to the ground. He wondered what she would look like when she's in her last months of pregnancy, the thought made him smile for some reason. Ino bit her lips and clenched the rim of the bench. _

_She calmed down when she felt his big hand on her small one, he moved his other hand to the back of her neck, pulling her closer, leaning his forehead on hers. _

_She kept her eyes on the ground, not looking into his. Gaara sighed, moving his vision to her right, then back at her. _

_"I don't think I can go home…" she started, making him open his mouth a bit, blinking a couple of times. "…I don't think my mother would welcome me home, not after what I've done…" she said, sobbing softly, "I don't want to lose her, Gaara". _

_Gaara shook his head and got up, sitting next to her, draping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer, letting her lean on his chest for a second. _

_"Look, you'll go home tonight and get some rest…" he said, caressing her hair. She sighed and nodded against his chest. "…You'll also talk to your mother and tell her that I'm coming over tomorrow, first thing in the morning." He said, making Ino shoot up from his chest and look up at him, eyes widened. _

_"Why do you want to talk to her?" she said, nervously. He looked away, narrowing his eyes. "I have to explain everything-" _

_"-What is there to explain?" she asked, moving away and getting up, turning around. Ino held her arms and shivered a bit. Gaara got up and moved closer to her, taking off his jacket. "Because…" he said, throwing the jacket on her shoulders and resting his hands on them. "…It's my fault." He said, moving his hands off and walked ahead. _

_"C'mon, you don't want to be late, do you?" he asked, firmly. She didn't have to say anything; she just looked down and followed him home. _

_End flashback_

In the end, Gaara managed to convince Ino to ask for her mother's approval to meet him, and there he was, going out of the building towards her house. On his way, he passed by Temari, wearing her usual black Kimono, her hair as spiky as always and her fan never leaving her back. She frowned when he didn't say a word.

"Gaara, where are you going early in the morning?" she asked, crossing her arms. He stopped, turning his head to the side.

"I have some business to take care of…" he firmly said, taking a couple of steps before stopping again. "Oh, and Temari…" he said, softly.

"Yes?" she replied, noticing the change in his tone. He moved his vision to the ground. "Whenever you're with Shikamaru, be careful and safe" he said, and with that, he was gone, leaving Temari confused by his behavior. She smiled and looked down.

_'That's a first…'_ she thought, shaking her head, _'…but thanks for caring, bro' _she thought as she walked off.

**Yamanaka Ino's residence:**

She was sitting on her bed, holding her legs close to her chest. Things have calmed down between her and her mother now, they've been communicating a bit. The only thing making it easier is that her father was on a reconnaissance mission for a couple of months now; she'll be able to handle it whenever he comes back. She was thinking when there was a knock on the door. Ino moved her vision to the closed door, knowing it was none other than her mother.

"C'mon in" she said, moving her head back on her knees. The door was opened and Ino's mom walked in with a tray. "I made you breakfast, I thought you might be hungry…I-I figured you haven't eaten a thing since last night" She said, walking towards Ino's desk and placing the tray on it.

Ino looked at her mother who was obviously shaky; she still held the tray with her hands, firmly. Ino frowned and opened her mouth to speak up but her mother was faster than her and was at the door.

"Mom…" she said, making her mother stop. "…I-I don't…" she stuttered, seeing that he mother didn't flinch. Ino got up. "I-I'm sorry, mother" she said, a tear strolling down her cheek. Her mother hadn't moved, instead, she turned around.

"Ino…" she said, firmly and with a blank expression on her face. "…sit down, sweetheart" she said, walking towards her sobbing daughter. Ino obeyed and sat down, wiping away her tears. Her mother sat down next to her.

"There's something I need to tell you." she said, her lips forming a thin line. "I know it's been hard for you ever since that fateful day 5 years ago. I know you always blamed yourself for his death, but you know it isn't your fault" she said, looking at the ground.

"You should've told me how you felt; instead of recklessly do what you did." She said, tears slowly forming in her eyes, her hands resting on her knees. "I didn't want you to go through what I went through…" she whispered, barely audible, tightening her grip on her knees. Ino's face was red, trying to hold the crying fit back, tears quickly making their way down her cheek and dropping onto her light blue pants, forming dark blue spots on them.

"His death was inevitable, mom. He was sick…" Ino said, crying as she remembered her little brother's laughter every time he did something stupid and made her mother angry. "…it's you who haven't gotten over it" she said, raising her legs on the bed and holding her knees closer to her chest.

Ino's mom looked at her a nodded, "well, that's not what I wanted to tell you…" she said, chuckling. Ino looked at her mother silently. She got up and took a couple of steps away.

"Ino…" she started, looking at the ground. "…I've been through what you're going through now…" she said, clasping her hands silently together. Ino knotted her eyebrows, a couple of seconds later, she gasped.

"Mom…" she started, getting up. Her mother chuckled. "Yes, I've acted recklessly with your father when I was your age." She said, turning around. "I didn't want you to become like me, but you already did." She said, looking at the ground. "I've loved your father back then, I still do, but I couldn't…" she said, looking away, "…I wasn't able to stop what happened between us." She said, looking at her daughter.

"I didn't want you to be like me, but since you love that guy, I can't stop you…" she said, turning around. Ino shook her head.

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa…" she said, raising her hands in the air, "too much information here. First you tell me that I'm the fruit of some night with you and father and then you tell me I love that guy, I don't mom, he's just…" she said, looking at the ground. "He's just a friend." She said, sadly. Her mother turned around.

"You're telling me the father of the child is not your boyfriend?!" she asked, eyes widened. Ino looked at her mother with the same expression.

"UH-HUH!" she said, throwing her hands in the air, making her mother put her hand on her forehead.

"Oh my god..." she said, not long before the bell rang. Ino looked at her mother and she looked back with an angry expression.

"I'm going to kill him…" she said, stomping her way downstairs, Ino followed suit.

"Mom, wait…" she yelled, following her mother down the stairs. _'Oh my god, Gaara is going to be in a big trouble.'_

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**END!! **

**This chapter is pretty lame; the only part I liked was the first one. I don't even know how I wrote the last one and NO, GAARA and INO are not a couple just because they had a one night stand and a baby, because they're just friends… **

**Yeah, Ino had a little brother but he died. I had to get that in between XD **

**Tune in for more… **

**Please review**


	4. Chapter IV

Guys, I'm so sorry for the MAJOR delay but I was having my exams at school and I couldn't write anything because I was having a MAJOR writer's block and wouldn't upload my document for GOD knows why, so…here I am.

I'm saying the word MAJOR a lot today, he-he-he. I'll be finished with school in June so I'll be spending a lot of time with my stories. Stay tuned

Sasuke fans, He'll appear more and more in this story so wait up!

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**REVIEWS!! **

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Oktoberfest: I'm glad you liked it. I'll add more fluffiness if you like . Thank you for your review.

Blaze jinx: Well, your questions are going to be answered in this chapter. ENJOY!

Itsumo Neko: ha-ha-ha. That cloud will soon disappear. Enjoy this chapter.

Cheese Maiden: Yeah, I actually hate soaps and if I let Ino hide it from Gaara, it would be the same. I'm actually thinking of giving Sasuke a MAJOR role in this one. Enjoy this chapter!

Kirri Kitty: Gotta love the triangle, Huh? Try and read this chapter. Good luck with ya, Kirri!!

Blackangle2: well, Gaara won't be hurting the mother of the girl he likes now, will he? Ha-ha, Enjoy this chapter.

You guys, you know that you can suggest anything to add in this story and I'll think about it. Thank you guys for your great support and believe me, I'm writing this story because of you. Thank you very much, indeed.

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**Previously:**

_"-I'm positive about it, Gaara…" She cut him, making him look at the ground. "…I've been feeling dizzy and having morning sicknesses for the past couple of weeks, and I'm craving for the craziest things, not to mention that I'm late" She said, throwing her hands in the air. _

* * *

_"You're telling me the father of the child is not your boyfriend?!" she asked, eyes widened. Ino looked at her mother with the same expression. _

_"UH-HUH!" she said, throwing her hands in the air, making her mother put her hand on her forehead. _

_"Oh my god..." she said, not long before the bell rang. Ino looked at her mother and she looked back with an angry expression. _

_"I'm going to kill him…" she said, stomping her way downstairs, Ino followed suit. _

_"Mom, wait…" she yelled, following her mother down the stairs. 'Oh my god, Gaara is going to be in a big trouble.' _

* * *

**That Night, Chapter IV******

Ino followed her mother down the stairs, "Mother, Please, You don't understand-"

"-What is it that I don't understand? I would've understood just a little bit if he was your boyfriend but he's not!" she said, stomping towards the door. As soon as her palm touched the door knob, Ino squeezed her eyes shut. _'Oh my god, please…'_ she silently prayed, putting her hands on her mouth and slowly opening her eyes again. Her mother jerked the door open. Ino waited for the inevitable as she saw Gaara's figure at the door.

"Gaara…" she said, looking angrily at him. Gaara gulped and faked a smile. "Yamanaka-san!" he said, looking at Ino who had a frightened look in her eyes. Gaara knotted his eyebrows and then turned his vision towards her mother.

"…C'mon in…" she said, sighing and stepping aside. Gaara looked at Ino and walked slowly inside the house, not breaking the eye contact with her. "…I believe that Ino told you about everything, right?" she said, running her hand through her hair. Gaara walked towards Ino and stood next to her, looking at her quizzically.

"Yes, Uh, she did." He said, moving his vision to her mother. Gaara moved his attention back at Ino who buried her face in her hands and was shaking her head.

"I thought you told her!" he whispered, making Ino take a step backwards, pulling him along.

"I did, it's just that…" she said, looking at her mother who crossed her arms and waited for the teenagers to finish their talk. "…I don't think she realizes that YOU are the father. And now she's going to kill you."

"WHAT!?" Ino's mother yelled, widening her eyes. Gaara looked at her, eyes wide open. "Yamanaka-san, it's true!" he said, turning to face her. Ino's mother rested her hands on the sides of her head before closing her eyes, "Oh…my god" she mumbled, her body feeling a bit lighter.

"Mom…" Ino worriedly said when she noticed that her mother was swinging back and forth before collapsing on the ground.

"MOM!" Ino yelled as she and Gaara ran towards her. Ino checked her pulse, _'faster than usual'_ Ino thought as she moved her fingers away from her mother's neck. Gaara walked towards Ino's mother from the other side and moved his arms, one behind her back and the others beneath her knees and carried her, putting her on the couch. Ino rested her hand on her stomach as the other was on her mouth.

"She'll be fine, don't worry. Are YOU ok?" Gaara said, reassuring Ino who was at the verge of tears. "I'm ok, but that was a hard fall, are you sure she's ok?" Ino said in a hoarse voice. Gaara stood up and turned to face her.

"She'll be fine, I think she didn't take it very well." He said, looking at Ino's mother's limp body before moving his eyes towards the blonde. "I thought you told her about the whole situation" he said, knotting his eyebrows. Ino sighed and walked towards the smaller couch, sitting down. "I did, I just didn't tell her that YOU were the father." She said, resting her elbow on the couch's arm, and rubbed her forehead. Gaara took a couple of steps before kneeling in front of Ino.

"I don't get it…" he said, knotting his eyebrows "…Then how exactly did you tell her that I'm the father without saying that **I** am the father?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. Ino glared at him and sighed heavily. "I just told her that the father of my child is coming to explain everything, like you told me to say last night." She said, waving her hand as she spoke. Gaara chuckled.

"How in the world did you miss mentioning my name in the whole conversation?" he asked, resting his arm on the couch's arm. Ino shook her head.

"I don't know. It just happened…" she said, looking at him. "...Besides, before opening the door, she said that she wanted to kill the father of the child so you'd better be thankful that she didn't know it was you." she said, getting up, and walked to her mother's side before kneeling.

Ino raised her hand and caressed her mother's hair dark blonde and grey hair, her tears flowing like a river down her cheeks. "She's been through a lot. and now, I'm making her suffer with the bad news I gave her…" she said, lowering her head, watching her own tears drop on the carpet beneath her.

"I've only brought grief to this family…" she said, sobbing. "…It was my fault that Nawaki is dead. He was the one bringing joy to mother. It is I who was supposed to die, not him…" she said, crying her heart out. Gaara walked to her side and kneeled before draping his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.

"No, No, don't say that, Ino" he said, soothing her. "Don't blame yourself for his death, it was destined…" he said, caressing her hair. Ino relaxed in his arms and closed her eyes, sobbing lightly.

"She'll wake up in a few, and I'll explain everything to her, just like I promised you." He said, releasing her from the hug and looking at her eyes. "Why don't you take a nap? You look like you need it" he said, chuckling, and moved the golden lock that covered her right eye behind her ear. She chuckled, wiping away her tears.

"Yeah, I haven't slept well last night." She said, pushing herself out of his hug and getting up with Gaara following her every move. She looked at her mother, but Gaara made her turn to face him, holding her shoulders.

"Don't worry about her, I'll stay here and when she wakes up, I'll let you know. Ok?" he said, rubbing her forearms slowly. She nodded and smiled at him.

"Thank you, Gaara" she said, walking past him. He stood in his place and nodded lightly after she'd walked off. Gaara sighed heavily and walked towards the smaller couch, sitting down, waiting for the older Yamanaka to wake up.

**Half an hour later…**

Gaara was still sitting at the smaller couch when Ino's mother stirred in her sleep. Gaara got up and walked slowly to her lying figure. She soon opened her eyes and was met with Gaara's intense Gaze.

"Are you ok, Yamanaka-san?" he asked, moving his hands behind his back. She blinked a couple of times before sitting up straight, moving her legs to the side of the couch, and put her right hand on her forehead.

"What happened?" she asked, looking up at Gaara. He sighed and sat down next to her. "You fainted" he bluntly said, looking at the coffee table in front of the couch. She nodded and looked at him.

"So, you are the father, huh?" she asked, looking at him with an expression Gaara didn't quite understand. Gaara moved his eyes to the ground and nodded slowly. Ino's mother chuckled, but it wasn't a happy one.

"She told me that you guys aren't dating, that you're not her boyfriend, that she sees you only as a friend, is that true?" she said, narrowing her eyes. "Did you guys get drunk one night or what is it?" she said, making Gaara glue his vision to the ground, not daring to look at her.

_'Just a friend…'_ Gaara thought, biting his bottom lip. _'…I guess that's all she sees in me, just a friend.'_ His thoughts were interrupted by Ino's very displeased mother.

"Answer me…" she calmly said, tightening her fists. Gaara was thinking, since Ino told her mother that they're only friends, there's no good in telling her that he had always liked her daughter and never intended to hurt her.

"Yes…" he calmly said, "…we're not dating, we're only friends-" he said. Suddenly, Gaara turned his head sharply to the side, realizing that he was slapped by her. Gaara's face turned to the side, his cheek turned a light shade of red. He was surprised how his sand didn't protect him; instead, he felt a sting in his cheek where he was slapped.

"What have you done?! How could you ruin her life, her future, everything she'd dreamed of?!" she said, angrily, yelling at him. Gaara turned his head to face her again; her expression has now softened when she saw Gaara's red cheek.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"-It's ok, I understand your reaction." He said, looking at the ground and fiddling with his hands. He took a deep breath and got out what he needed to get out.

"Yamanaka-san…" he said, looking at her. "…I know you're hurt because of, well, what happened between me and Ino. I want you to know that…I never intend to hurt her, not in a million years. If I hadn't cared about her or you, I wouldn't have asked her to tell you that I want to meet with you" he said, looking back at the ground. He swallowed before continuing.

"Ino decided to keep the baby, and I promised that I'll help her with raising him… or her." he said, chuckling nervously. "Although it was a very irresponsible action of both of us, but it's my responsibility to take care of both of them, and you know me, Yamanaka-san, I take responsibility of my actions. Ino does so as well." He said, biting his bottom lip, waiting for her answer.

"Alright" she simply said, making Gaara look at her with a surprised look on his face. "Alright…" he said, waiting for her to complete his sentence. She looked at the ground then looked up at him with a sad smile on her face.

"Alright, I understand everything you just said and…I trust you'll take care of Ino" she said, smiling. Gaara paused for a minute before smiling back, nodding.

"I'll protect her with my life" he said, smiling. Ino's mother smiled before she realized something.

"Where is Ino?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. Gaara looked up the stairs. "She's taking a nap" he said, raising his eyebrows. Ino's mother nodded.

"Well, why don't you go tell her that everything is cleared?" she said, ushering with her hand towards the stairs. He looked at it before turning his attention back at her.

"Sure, why not?" he said, getting up, and walked towards the stairs. He stopped and turned around.

Ino's mother stood up, holding her hands together in front of her. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, worriedly. Gaara raised an eyebrow.

"Ino told me that you were going to kill me…" he said, looking a bit nervous. Ino's mother chuckled.

"Well, I would've, but I wouldn't want to kill the father of my daughter's child, besides, I thought you were invincible" she said, crossing her arms. Gaara laughed as he figured that she had already known about his Sand shield that's protecting him even from himself.

"Kinda…" he said, looking at the ground, "…but each and everyone has their weakness." He said, smiling sincerely before turning around and climbing up the stairs.

"And I believe you've found your weakness?" she asked with a hint about something Gaara didn't understand, making him stop in his tracks. She chuckled.

"Go, I don't think she's asleep. Ino's not the kind of girls to take a nap early in the morning, no one does, actually." she said, walking towards the kitchen's door. She put her hand on the door to open it before stopping and turning to look at Gaara

"Oh, and Gaara…" she said, making him turn around, "…after you finish telling her, I want you both down here for a minute" she said, pushing the door and walking towards the kitchen. Gaara sighed and walked upstairs.

**Ino's room… **

She sat on her bed, pulling her knees closer to her chest and looking out the window, her loose hair sliding gracefully down her back and her locks framing her face. It's been a little over half an hour since her mother passed out and Gaara hasn't reassured her ever since.

"I can't face her anymore…" she mumbled, looking at her feet before lying back on her bed. "…I can't even think of telling dad. Oh my god, what was I thinking?!" she said, closing her eyes. Her hand unconsciously moved towards her stomach, caressing it slowly. She opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. In about 7 or 8 months from now she'll be having her baby, Gaara's baby. She chuckled nervously at the thought of having Gaara's baby, of having a baby in general.

_'Is he ready to be a father…'_ she thought, _'…am I ready to be a mother? I can't believe this is happening'_ she thought, moving her hands to cover her face as she groaned loudly. A knock on the door made her move her hands from her face to the sides of the bed, helping her to push herself up.

"It's open" she said, pulling her knees closer to her chest. Gaara peeked from the slightly open door, "Can I come in?" he asked, a hint of brightness in his voice. Ino chuckled, "Yeah, sure" she said, looking at her feet. Gaara walked in slowly, closing the door behind him.

"You told me to inform you once your mother is awake" he said, his lips curved into a small smile. Ino looked at him, her saddened expression turned into a delighted one.

"Really?" she said, literally jumping off the bed and onto her two feet. "Is she Ok?" Ino asked, her eyes literally glittering. Gaara's lips curved into another small smile, "Yeah, she's ok, In fact…" he said, taking a step closer to her, "…she wants us both downstairs." He said, putting his hands in his pockets. Ino laughed and jumped at him, circling her arms around his neck, almost choking him.

"Ino…can't…breathe" he said, making her move away with a worried expression on her face. "Oh, sorry, so sorry" she said, chuckling in between her words of apology. Gaara smiled and shook his head.

"No worries, now…" he said, taking her hand in his, intertwining his fingers with hers. Ino looked at their intertwining fingers, surprised by his action, looking up at him.

"…we don't want your mother to wait" he said, moving his other hand towards the door knob, turning it to open the door. "Hold on a second" Ino said, making him stop and turn around to face her. "What is it?"

Ino pointed at his left cheek, "what happened?" she said, noticing his red cheek. Gaara sighed, cursing his pale skin for showing it off much. "It's nothing" he said, shaking his head, "…c'mon, she's waiting" he said. Both of them walked hand in hand out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

**Downstairs… **

Ino's mother sat down, fiddling with her hands as she waited for her daughter and the father of her grand-child. Thinking about that made her shudder, _'how I longed to be called grandma, but not like this'_ she thought as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Ino's mother stood up, looking at Gaara who walked down the stairs, holding hands with a very worried-looking Ino.

"Mom…" she started, pulling her hand slowly away from Gaara's grip, and walked towards her mother, fidgeting with her hands. "…I…I'm really…" she said, looking at the ground. "I should've told you from the start. I guess I was a bit too nervous" she said, moving her thumbs in circles against each other. Her mother nodded, her lips curving into what seemed to be a smile.

"We'll talk about this in a moment…" she said, motioning for them to sit down. "…have a seat, both of you."

**Somewhere…**

Sasuke went down the street, his eyes roaming around as he slid his hands in his pocket and shrugged his shoulders. It was getting a bit cool, _'I guess summer's over for ya'_ Sasuke thought as he took a couple of steps before stopping at a familiar place.

"Well, what do ya know? It looks like all the signs are leading me to you, Ino" he said, walking towards the Yamanaka flower shop.

The bell on top of the door rang as he pushed the door and walked inside the shop, looking at the strawberry/blonde-haired girl behind the counter.

"Welcome to Yamanaka flower shop, how can I help you?" she politely said, smiling brightly. Sasuke smirked and turned his head to the side. He wasn't very fond of perky little women; he just wanted things to be over with.

"Yeah, I'd like a half a dozen of lilies, please" he said, looking around the shop with a very uninterested look on his face. The girl nodded, "Coming right up!" she cheerfully said, walking from behind the counter. Sasuke groaned as the girl suddenly started talking about herself while collecting the flowers he wanted. He interrupted in the middle of her speech.

"Ok, I'm in a bit of a hurry, could you finish that up?" he coldly said, making the girl almost break in tears. She nodded, slowly walking behind the counter. She wrapped the flowers in a white wrapping paper and handed it over. Sasuke put the money on the table and walked off without a word.

He looked at the flowers and smirked, "Time to pay you a visit, Ino" he said, walking in the street that led to her house.

**Back at the Yamanaka's…**

Gaara sat on the smaller couch while Ino sat next to her mother on the bigger one. In the last couple of minutes, she was discussing their situation.

"…and that's why I think Gaara should be here when your father gets home" Ino's mother told her daughter who nodded slowly, looking at the ground. Ino's mother got up and excused herself, saying that there's something that needed to be done. As her mother climbed the stairs, Ino sighed heavily and leaned her head back at the couch. Gaara was watching her every move, wondering what she was thinking.

_'What are you, an idiot? Of course she's worried, she's pregnant at 17, her father doesn't know yet and GOD KNOWS what he'll do once he knows and it's all your fault'_ he mentally scolded himself, knotting his eyebrows.

_'…you don't even know if she was ready for this…if YOU are ready for this' _he looked at the ground, fiddling with his hands, and bit his bottom lip.

"Gaara…" Ino said, her soft voice bringing Gaara back out of his thoughts. He looked at her, noticing she was a bit blue.

"Yeah?" he said, getting up, and walked towards the couch, sitting down next to her. "Do you want me to get you anything?" he said, titling his head lower to see her face. She shook her head and kept her eyes glued to the ground, not saying a word.

In a second, she was holding on to him, her arms around his neck. He was startled by her sudden action. She leaned closer to his ear.

"Gaara, Promise me…" she said in a hoarse voice, "…promise me you'll be here, if not for me, then at least for the baby" she said, sobbing lightly. Gaara blinked a couple of times before moving his arms around her, pulling her closer into his embrace.

_'You still don't know how I feel, do you, Ino-Chan?'_ he thought, his eyes moving to the ground as the girl sobbed in his arms.

"Ino…" he whispered, caressing her long loose blonde locks. "…there's something I have to tell you." he said, pulling her away from his embrace and looking right into her eyes.

Ino noticed something different about him. Yes, a couple of years ago, his eyes were the coldest thing that could be in the world. At the present time, they've become warmer but now…

_'…Something about them is way more different' _she thought. For second, Ino swore she could've seen some sparkle in his eyes.

"What is it, Gaara?" she said, never removing her eyes from his. He gulped and gathered all the courage in him; he knew what he wanted to say, he was just hoping he could convert his thoughts into words.

_'I have to tell her, I have to let her know that, that night… I realized…'_

"Ino…" he repeated, his hand moving unconsciously towards her cheek, caressing it slowly, and wiped her tears away. Gaara wet his lips and sighed heavily. "I want you to know that I…" he said, stopping for a minute.

_'What if she refuses? What if she doesn't feel the same way? Things are not going to be the same'_ Gaara thought, hesitating. Ino narrowed her eyes, waiting for his response.

"What is it?" she said, moving her hand towards his caressing one and held it"…tell me." She said, closing her eyes for a second at his touch. Gaara blinked a couple of times before…

"Ino…" he started, looking at her straight in the eye "I think I'm fall-"

KNOCK, KNOCK!

Ino and Gaara both jerked their heads towards the door. She looked at him, holding both her index fingers in his face.

"Hold that thought, I'll be right back" she said, getting up and out of his embrace, leaving him still in his place. He looked at her as she walked towards the door, her blonde hair moving along her back as she walked. Gaara sighed as he cursed whoever was knocking on the door for ruining his chance.

Ino reached for the door knob, opening the door slowly. She peeked through the slightly cracked door to see Sasuke, holding his hands behind his back. Ino froze in her place.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun…" she mumbled, blinking a couple of times. He looked at her and smiled. "Hey, I-I hope I didn't bother you" he said, biting his bottom lip. Ino blinked a couple of times before chuckling nervously, stepping aside.

"No, not at all…" she said, letting Sasuke walk in, following him with her eyes "…I was just hanging out with…" she said, looking at the couch where the red head was.

"With who?" Sasuke asked, looking where Ino was looking. She froze for a second, but waved her hand at the empty room.

"…With mom, yeah, she was here and now she's upstairs, doing something…that has to do with her." she said, chuckling nervously, yet her chest was aching for some reason, wondering where Sabaku no Gaara went to.

**Outside the Yamanaka's …**

Gaara stood on the roof of the opposite house, looking down on the Yamanaka's residence. He narrowed his eyes once he's seen Sasuke walk into Ino's house and sighed heavily, doing a quick flash-step and disappearing into thin air.

**Ino and Sasuke…**

Sasuke looked at Ino who seemed to be spaced out, he narrowed his eyes. _'probably thinking about that low-life scum…' _he thought, his grip tightening around the bouquet of lilies held behind his back_ '…gotta do something about it'_ he thought as he took a deep breath.

"Hey, Ino…" he said, in a slightly different tone than his usual. Ino looked at him with a lost expression on her face. "Yeah?" she said, fiddling with her fingers. Sasuke extended his right hand, revealing the bouquet.

"I bought this for you. I thought you might like it" he said, smiling brightly. Ino awed and held the bouquet with a smile on her face. "Oh, Sasuke, you really didn't have to do that" she said, looking at him with a small smile on her face. Sasuke smiled, his smile looking more like a twisted smirk.

"Hm, I thought it would be nice" he said, burying his hands in his pockets. Ino smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Sasuke" she said, looking at the flowers. "I should put them in some water, please have a seat" she said, walking towards the kitchen door. On her way, Ino caught one of the empty vases in the living room and turned around, pushing the door with her back.

"I'll be back in a second, ok?" she said, smiling and disappearing into the kitchen. Sasuke smirked and walked towards one of the couches, sitting down.

He sighed, looking around the house. _'It's funny how we almost grew up together yet you never invited me home, Ino'_ he thought, looking at the coffee table in the middle. "What's that?" he said, picking a small note up of the table. He couldn't help but to read it.

_Had to go, want to talk to you later. _

_Gaara_

Sasuke smirked, looking disgusted. _'So she lied, he was here'_ he thought, narrowing his eyes as he crumbled the paper in his hand and buried it in his pocket.

**A couple of seconds ago…**

Ino walked into the kitchen, sighing as heavily as a person can. "What in the world are you doing here, Sasuke?" she mumbled as she put the vase and the flowers on the table, moved to the left and rested her hands on the counter, leaning forward.

"God…" she said, feeling sick. _'Oh, morning sicknesses'_ Ino put her hand on her mouth and narrowed her eyes, _'shit'_ she thought as she ran through the backdoor of the house and into the backyard, turning around the corner, and ran towards one of the garbage canisters. She opened the lid and leaned forward, holding her loose hair up with her left hand.

"Oh, god, not now!" she said, before throwing up in the garbage canister, hoping Sasuke wouldn't hear her or come to check her out. In a couple of seconds, Ino wiped her mouth.

"Oh my god, I need some gum" she said, walking inside the house.

**A couple of minutes later…**

Ino walked into the living room, holding the vase in her hands. She smiled at him and put the vase back on the chest. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, are you ok? You look a bit pale" he said, getting up. Ino looked at him, unconsciously resting her hand on her stomach.

"Who, me? No, I'm fine. I'm always pale, Sasuke." She said, chuckling nervously. Ino walked towards the couch and sat next to him, sighing.

Sasuke looked at her and swallowed, finding the silence between them a bit inconvenient.

"So, you're out of the hospital, ne? I'm glad" he said, nodding. Ino looked at him and chuckled, "Yeah, I got out the same day I got in…" she said, looking at Sasuke who was spacing, his eyes moving towards the coffee table. "…I didn't see you after…after I fainted" she said, her lips formed a thin line.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he remembered how Gaara managed to be the one to see her when he couldn't. He unconsciously tightened his fists, cursing both Gaara for being so close to Ino and Neji for choosing Gaara over him.

"Sasuke-kun, are you ok?" she said, looking at his angered face. He looked at her and cleared his throat.

"Well, I wanted to see you but…" he said, _'now it's my chance'_ he thought, having an evil idea in his head. "…Gaara wouldn't let me in" he said, faking a saddened expression.

Ino knotted her eyebrows, _'why didn't Gaara let Sasuke in? Is it because of what happened with the two of us? Was he trying to protect me or was he trying to being a total jerk by preventing my friend from visiting?'_ she thought, narrowing her eyes.

"Gaara?" she started, moving her hair away from her face. "Why would he do such a thing?" she asked, leaning backwards on the couch. Sasuke smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, but I think it's something that has to do with…" he said, looking at her, biting his bottom lip. "…You know what? Forget it." he said, getting up and walking towards the door.

Ino got up, following him, "No, wait…" she said, stopping him in his tracks. "…it's something that has to do with what, exactly?" she said, blinking a couple of times before the Uchiha turned around slowly.

He looked at her with a smirk on his face, "It's nothing, but it's something that has to do with your little Suna no shinobi being a little bit possessive" he said, pushing his index and thumb fingers together, indicating the 'little bit' part.

Ino narrowed her eyes, knotting her eyebrows. "Possessive? What do you mean?" she said, shaking her head. Sasuke smirked and slid his hands in his pockets, touching the piece of paper in the process. He grabbed and tightened his grip on it.

"Let's just say that he likes to keep you for himself, thinks of you as his own property" he said, stressing on the last word. Sasuke turned around and walked towards the door. His right hand reached for the door knob to turn it, opening the door. "See ya around, Ino-Chan" he said, walking out, leaving Ino in an emotional shock.

"What did you mean, Sasuke-kun?" she mumbled, sitting down.

_'…thinks of you as his own property'_

Sasuke's words ran through her head like a projector's old movie. Ino, frustratingly, buried her face in her hands, sighing heavily. She never noticed any act of possession from Gaara before. The fact that he hung out with her much didn't mean he was possessive.

"I have to lie down, this is too much for me" she said, turning her words into action and lying fully on the couch, sighing heavily for the billionth time that day. Ino closed her eyes and rested for a while, thinking about Sasuke's words as Gaara's Image popped into her head. She knotted her eyebrows, closing her eyes.

"Where do you go…" she mumbled, "…without a word?" Ino sighed, wondering where in the world Gaara has disappeared to.

* * *

**END! **

**What do ya think? Sorry for the delay. **

**Are my chapters too long? If they are, please let me know. **

**Please review **


	5. Chapter V

**Reviews: **

blackangle2: I'm so glad you liked my Evil Sasuke. I just wanted to make him bad and I didn't know how. I guess Going on with him that way would be great. I love his evilness as well xP. Thanks for your review.

BlazeJinx: Yeah, that's why I decided to make Sasuke a main character in this story. I have this feeling that I'm going to make a twist in this story . Thanks for your review.

Kirri Kitty: Ha-ha, He is an 8!+#...whatever you meant by that XP. Thanks for your review

Cheese Maiden: Yeah, while I was writing that part I was like, DAMN IT, SASUKE!!! He-he, I hope you like this chapter. Ino's dad is coming up soon and boy will he be mad!! Thanks for your review.

anikaicancu: thank you, your words are duly noted. I'm really flattered by your review and I'm glad you like this pairing because it SHOULD happen!! Oh and you don't have to apologize. Thanks for your review, God bless.

Yingyanglover: I'm glad you just figured he's evil XP. Thx for your review

Oktoberfest: Yeah, he is. I started hating him after leaving Konoha, yet I still like his badass attitude thx for your review and I'm glad you lovelovelove it XP.

paupau-cahn: I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for your review

Thanks to everyone who read this story and didn't review. This chapter goes out to you, guys. God bless you all!

And now, the long awaited chapter 5 is coming right up. Sorry for the delay, but I started my finals on Saturday and I didn't have much time a couple of weeks ago, let alone this busy week!

ENJOY!

* * *

**That night, Chapter 5 **

"Ino, sweetheart, can you help me out for a second!" Ino's mother called her daughter to the kitchen. She was mixing flour, water and eggs in a bowl with an egg beater. Ino came running down from her bedroom after changing into her usual Kunoichi outfit: dark blue button-up top and dark blue skirt that matched. She walked into the kitchen, sighing heavily.

"Young lady, don't you sigh like this. I need your help and you should help me!" she scolded her daughter in a motherly tone. Ino knew her mother was joking around, that was her way anyway.

"Fine, mom, I won't breathe anymore" Ino sarcastically said, standing next to her mother on the counter. Both of them laughed.

"Well, you can't just stop breathing, it'll be bad for the baby" Ino's mother replied, causing both of them to pause for a second. Ino chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, it-it'll be hard" she said, looking at the counter and fiddling with her hands. Her mother noticed her tension, deciding to change the subject.

"I'm baking, as you can tell. But I can't tell which flavor to use. What do you want, Ino?" she asked, smiling lovingly at her daughter. Ino looked up at her mother and smiled.

"Well, I'm thinking….blueberry!" Ino exclaimed, grinning. Her mother laughed, "well, if that what you want. The blueberry mixture is in the top cabinet, right side" she told her daughter who obediently complied with her mother's words. Her mother looked at her and smiled, Ino smiling back as well.

_'You must lose the baby, Ino, you must'_ her mother thought, turning her attention towards the bowl.

* * *

Gaara was walking silently, thinking about the past couple of weeks. They sure passed as quickly as it possibly could, but he didn't fully comprehend the situations that occurred in them.

He looked around, seeing little children running from one side of the street to the other, laughing with each other, playing with their friends and siblings. He smiled once he thought that he'd be having his own in a couple of months, but quickly frowned.

"Am I going to be able to take the responsibility?" Gaara asked himself out loud, looking at the ground.

"The responsibility of what?" an enthusiastic voice said behind him, making him turn around. "L-Lee" Gaara mumbled, a little bit surprised. Lee grinned and gave him a thumb up, his teeth emitting a weird shine from them.

"Yeah!" he said, chuckling. Gaara nodded and smiled, "So, did I interrupt your thoughts?" he asked, knotting his eyebrows. Gaara blinked a couple of times before looking away.

"No, not really" he said, smiling. Lee nodded and moved towards Gaara, draping his arm around the latter's shoulders.

"You've been here for a long time and I haven't got the chance to treat you over something, friend. C'mon, I'll buy ya a drink!" Lee said, grinning, making Gaara knot his eyebrows.

"Are you allowed to drink at this age?" Gaara asked, looking quizzically at his hyper friend. "No, even if I'm old enough, I can't. They say I'm sensitive!" Lee said, walking ahead of Gaara. "What I meant by drink was juice, soda, something like that" Lee said, grinning. "C'mon, let's go!" he said, running ahead of his friend. Gaara smirked, _'that guy better not think I'm going to run along'_ Gaara thought, shaking his head. Unfortunately for him, he noticed that Lee was running back at him.

"Oh My God, Forgive me, Gaara, but you're very slow" he said, pulling on Gaara's arm and ran as fast as he could, dragging him along.

In the following hour, Lee was telling Gaara all about his adventures with his Sensei and Idol, Maito Gai. Gaara's job in that conversation was take sips from his orange juice, nod a bit and comment on several things, those only took about 2 minutes out of the whole conversation.

"So, Gaara…" Lee said, taking a big gulp out of his juice before putting the glass back on the table. "…how long are you staying here?" he asked, looking at the red-haired ninja. The latter smiled and looked at the table, knowing that he might be staying longer than he thought.

"I don't know…" he said, looking at his friend. "…I guess, time will tell" he said, taking a sip from his juice. Lee looked at him and narrowed his eyes, not quite getting what he meant by that. Gaara got up and reached inside his pocket, getting out a few coins and put them on the table.

"Keep the change." He told the guys behind the counter before turning to face his friend, "Got some business to take care off." He said, walking off, raising his hand at Lee as a goodbye wave. Lee was a bit confused. He shook his head and chuckled.

"This guy is getting weirder day after day." Lee said, sitting alone while continuing his soda.

* * *

Ino said waved goodbye to her mother, walking out of the door. She realized that she had to get out as soon as possible, knowing that getting out wouldn't even be an option in a couple of months.

She sighed, walking along the streets, not caring where she would end up. She just wanted to take a stroll, let her feet take her wherever it was destined for her to go.

In a couple of minutes, she was at the river. Ino remembered as she and Sakura used to spend time together as children at the park, before running across the little wooden bridge over that particular river

She looked up to see him leaning on the railing, spacing out while watching the fish beneath the river, his red hair moving along the breeze coming from the side. Ino smiled and walked towards him. Gaara was too spaced out to notice her by his side, not until she spoke up.

"What are you doing?" She asked, grinning goofily at him. He was startled, turning his head to face her. "I-Ino!" he said, stuttering a bit, before getting his nonchalant personality back. "What are you doing here?" he asked, turning his head back to the river. She smiled and leaned on the railing, looking at the flowing river.

"Well, I got bored, you know, staying at home with mom…" she said, chuckling. "…I suggested that you come over and have lunch with us today." She said, never removing her vision from the river. Gaara turned to face her, blinked a couple of times before looking at the river again, sighing heavily.

"Sure" he said, closing his eyes. Ino looked at him and sighed heavily before laughing, causing Gaara to look at her, narrowing his eyes.

"We stood like this in this exact spot a couple of weeks ago…" she said, smiling at him, he chuckled and moved his vision back to the river, "…except that I was the one confused then and now apparently…" she said, studying Gaara's expression. "…you are" she mumbled, looking silently at him

"I'm not confused…" he said, turning his head to face her, "…I'm just…" he said, trying to find the right word. Ino looked at him and smiled,

"Confused?" she said, chuckling. Gaara looked at her and smirked.

"Very funny" he said, turning around, and leaned his elbows on the railing, leaning his head back as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Ino leaned off of the railing and walked to the other side. Gaara opened his eyes and looked at her, following her every move.

"I'm also worried…" she said, intertwining her fingers together. "…I got myself in a really serious situation here. I even can't believe that mom actually didn't react like mothers would do." She said, turning around with a smile on her face, the smile that Gaara knew something serious would be said afterwards.

"I understand how you feel, Gaara, but…" she said, looking at the ground, "…If you don't want to go through this with me, I…I'll understand. Because, when I asked you to promise me that you'll stay, you just…didn't" she said, smiling sadly. Gaara narrowed his eyes, looking at the ground as he tried to remember:

_"Gaara, Promise me…" she said in a hoarse voice, "…promise me you'll be here, if not for me, then at least for the baby" she said, sobbing lightly. Gaara blinked a couple of times before moving his arms around her, pulling her closer into his embrace._

"Instead…" Ino said, breaking his thoughts, "…you wanted to tell me something, trying to change the subject when someone was at the door and then you left…" She said, taking a deep breath "…without a word from you." she said, looking at the ground, tears forming in her eyes.

"All the signs say that you don't want to stay, and I don't blame you, not at all" she said, nodding before taking a deep breath. Ino turned around and started to walk away, when she was stopped by a tug on her arm, turning her around.

Gaara looked at the ground, "I left you a note, I wanted to talk to some other time, and that other time would probably be now" he said, chuckling, "You didn't see it, did you?" Ino narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"I bet Sasuke saw it before you did" he sarcastically said, letting go of her hand and turned to face the other side. Ino knotted her eyebrows.

"What in the world do you mean by that?" she asked, angrily. Gaara turned around to say a word but she stopped him.

"No, don't say a thing…" she said, raising his hand. "…Unlike someone I know, he doesn't leave me alone in situations like this—"

"—HE doesn't even know what your situation is, OUR situation" Gaara exclaimed, looking angrily at her. Ino shook her head, "He was right. You ARE possessive" she said turning around before she was turned back to face him.

"Wait! What do you mean by possessive?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. Ino shook her head. "Question, why didn't you let him in when he wanted to visit me at the hospital?" she asked, making Gaara knot his eyebrows.

"Didn't let him in? What are you talking about?" he asked, causing Ino to turn around and walk off. Gaara followed her as she walked with quick steps.

"I never prevented him for going in. the doctors thought that it might be better if I went in, Neji agreed and Sasuke never said a word—"

"—Gaara…" she said, taking a deep breath, "…Why don't you go back to Suna? Because ever since you showed up, things have been turned upside down." she said, looking at the ground. "It's best for all of us if you left, better yet, if you hadn't shown up" she said, taking a couple of steps away. Gaara held her arm again.

"Ino…" he mumbled, causing her stop and look at the ground. "…I never got to answer your question" he said, turning her around. "I never said I didn't want to help you. It's just…you said it, I am confused…and Nervous" he said, looking at the ground. Ino held his hands in hers while he spoke.

"I still have to face your father to tell him about everything, I'm not intending to bail out on you, it's just, and I hope things go well" he said, looking at her in the eye, smiling nervously. Ino blinked a couple of times before moving closer to him, burying her face in his chest. Gaara moved his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace.

"Remember…" she said, looking up at him with a smile on her face, "…We're in this together"

Gaara looked at her and chuckled, making her wonder what was funny in their situation. "I'm the one who supposed to tell you that" he said, chuckling. Ino laughed and hugged him again.

"Thank you, Gaara" she said, closing her eyes. Gaara nodded and pulled away from the hug. "C'mon, we don't want your mother to worry about you, right?" he said, receiving a nod from the blonde before the two walked to her house.

* * *

Somewhere, a certain Sharingan user was hoping things would've taken a different turn.

"Damn, doesn't anything affect their friendship?" he asked himself as he sat on a tree branch. "I wonder what's keeping them together" he mumbled, narrowing his eyes as the two passed by him, not paying attention where he was.

"I have to know, I MUST know" he said, getting up and jumping towards other branches, going home.

* * *

"So, when is your father coming home?" Gaara asked as he walked hand in hand with Ino. She looked at him before looking at the sky, resting her index finger on her chin. It took her quite a while to answer this simple question.

"Um, I don't know. Probably next week, next month, as long as that mission takes." she said, chuckling. He nodded and looked at the ground. Ino chuckled and hugged is right arm, leaning on it.

"C'mon, cheer up; we'll have plenty of time to prepare ourselves for the outcomes" she said, her voice giving a hint of tension. Gaara chuckled and nodded, walking towards her house. For some reason, he felt a bad, cold chill running down his spine as her went closer to the house. Ino let go of his hand and went towards the door, opening it.

"Mom, I'm home. I managed to…" she paused, looking at the living room. Gaara walked in a few steps behind her and looked at the couch in the middle of the room, at the reason of Ino's shock, his own shock as well.

As the long-blonde-haired man stood up, walking towards both of them, Gaara realized that Ino's statement about them 'having enough time to prepare' wasn't completely correct.

"Father!" she exclaimed, causing Gaara to look at the ground. The man walked towards Ino and hugged her while she was still in a shock. "I missed you, Princess" he nicknamed her, pulling her out of his hug and looking at her straight in the eye.

"You've grown up for the past couple of months" he said, chuckling. Ino looked at her mother who was standing a couple of feet behind him, shaking her head.

Inoichi looked behind his daughter to see Gaara, lost in a trance. Since Gaara was a recurring visitor to Ino and the others, he was pretty familiar to Inoichi. "Well, well. If it isn't Sabaku no Gaara?" he said, making Ino move a step aside to let the two communicate. Ino widened her eyes and walked to her mother.

Gaara blinked a couple of times before nodding to him, "It's good to see you, Yamanaka-san" he politely said; his usual blank expression was on his face. Inoichi laughed, "You don't have to be so formal, Gaara-kun, please, come on in, make yourself at home" he said with a smile on his face. Gaara nodded and walked to the living room, noticing the anxious expressions on both of Ino's and her mother's faces. When Inoichi was about to say something, Ino grabbed Gaara's hand and ran as fast as she could up to her room.

"We'll be right back, Father" she said, as Inoichi heard the door slam, causing him to look at his wife with a quizzical look on his face.

"They're studying…" she lied, faking a smile. "…something about how to be a better ninja, you know…stuff" she said, earning a strange look from her husband.

"C'mon, I'll cook you whatever you want." She said, pulling him into the kitchen.

* * *

Ino locked her bedroom door while Gaara sat on the bed, looking at the ground. She leaned on the door, closing her eyes.

"Now what?" he asked, looking at her with one of her killer looks. She rested her hands on her waist and sighed heavily, shaking her head.

"We have to tell him, I don't think we're going to hide it forever" she said, walking closer towards the bed and standing a couple of centimeters away from him, causing him to look up at her, narrowing his eyes.

"…What?" she asked, looking down at him while crossing her arms. Gaara raised his hand and waved towards her.

"You're in my space, move away!" he said, narrowing his eyes. Ino chuckled and raised her eyebrows.

"Really?" she asked, taking a step closer. Gaara smirked and leaned backwards. "Seriously, I might have to kill you" he said, smirking at her. Ino gave him a disbelief look.

"This is MY room, so YOU are the one who's actually invading MY space" she said, smiling at him. "Besides, I don't think you can kill me" she said, resting her hands on her hips, giving him a cheeky smile. Gaara shook her head and chuckled.

"You're the one who dragged me into your room" he said, looking up at her, still leaning back on the bed. "Not to mention that it's not your first―" he joked, but stopped when Ino went pale for a while, remembering the events of the night that lead to the whole situation. Gaara noticed her anxiety and bit his bottom lip. Ino chuckled and took a step backwards, moving away from his 'Space'.

"Ino, I'm sorry―"

"―No, it's alright" she said, turning around and walking towards the door. Gaara got up and walked towards her. She stopped, fiddling with her hands and turned to face Gaara, a hint of tears was in her eyes.

"You know…." She started, looking at the ground. "…it would've been more acceptable if this…" she said, moving her hands in the space between them, "…Was real. If you and I were…" she said, pausing and looking at the ground. She chuckled and shook her head.

"Dad…" she started, changing the subject. Ino took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, which made Gaara almost do the same. "…is waiting downstairs. I don't think we should keep him any longer." She said, nodding and turning around, her hand moving slowly towards the door knob, unlocking it. She froze when Gaara's hand clasped gently over hers. She closed her eyes when he leaned his head on her shoulder, his lips near her ear.

"I'm with you all the way, Ino" he whispered, turning the door knob with her. As soon as the door opened, Ino turned to face him.

"Thanks, Gaara" she said, smiling before walking ahead of him. Gaara smiled and followed her downstairs.

* * *

Gaara and Ino walked downstairs to see The Yamanakas sitting across each other on the couches, the coffee table in between. Inoichi looked up at his daughter and smiled.

"Hey, I was wondering where you guys went. I thought you might be doing something funny up there" he chuckled before receiving a glare from his wife. Ino blinked a couple of times and blushed, taking a glimpse at Gaara who obviously was embarrassed, turning his head to the other side.

"Don't be silly, Inoichi. C'mon, kids, sit down" Ino's mother said, receiving a strange look from her husband.

"Honey, they're not kids anymore" he said, taking a sip from his tea cup. Ino's mother looked up at the two, exchanging looks with them. _'it's true, they're not kids anymore'_ she thought as Gaara sat down on the smaller couch while Ino sat on the arm, leaning her arm on the back of the couch. While her parents spoke about his mission, Ino tapped Gaara's shoulder, forcing him to look at her.

"Yeah?" he asked, blinking a couple of times. Ino leaned closer and whispered.

"Are you going to tell him now?" she asked, biting her bottom lip. Gaara took a deep breath and nodded, avoiding the eye contact. Ino sighed, Ino noticed that Gaara was nervous, probably didn't want her around him while he told her father. She looked at her mother and motioned to her to get up as she got up.

"Uh, Dad, excuse us for a second" she said, walking up the stairs. Her mother excused herself and followed her daughter to her room. Inoichi looked at his wife and daughter and chuckled,

"Women…" he mumbled, laughing, causing Gaara to laugh along. A couple of minutes have passed and Inoichi have been telling Gaara about his mission, how other ninja's tried to penetrate Konoha's great defense but they were able to stop them. Gaara was listening to every word he said, but his mind was drifting to something completely irrelevant.

As the scene went quiet for a few seconds, Gaara seized the opportunity to speak up.

"Inoichi-san…" he started, his eyes glued on Inoichi, causing the latter to shift in his place under his intense gaze.

"I have to tell you something" Gaara said, interlocking his fingers, leaning on his knees. Inoichi noticed that Gaara was as silent as a stone.

"Sure, what do you want to say?" he asked, looking at the young man in front of him. Gaara took a deep breath, wondering what would happen once he spoke those words.

"Inoichi-san…" Gaara started, looking at his straight in the eye, _'it's now or never'_

"…I've been spending a lot of time with your daughter in the past couple of months and…" he said, fiddling with his hands, "…and I wanted to tell you that―"

Gaara's sentence was cut when he saw Ino run down the stairs, crying as she ran towards the door and ran out, slamming the door shut. Gaara looked at Inoichi and apologized before running out to check on her.

**A couple of minutes earlier… **

Ino and her mother walked into her room. The former sat on her bed while her mother leaned against the desk. Ino bit her bottom lip, tapping her fingers against each other as she looked around the room trying to find something to distract her from the fact that Gaara, at that moment, was telling her father everything.

"Ino…" Ino looked up at her mother, wondering what she was about to say, not realizing that what she was about to say would change her life forever.

"…You have to lose that child!" she exclaimed, causing Ino to widen her eyes, shaking her head. Her mother continued, looking angrily at her daughter.

"I can't let you bring down everything that your father worked hard to keep up, the family name, his reputation, yours!" she exclaimed, causing her daughter's tears to slowly form in her eyes.

"…I'm going to tell Gaara to stop whatever he's about to do, because you ARE going to lose that baby" she said, walking towards the door.

"No…"

She turned around, narrowing her eyes at her daughter. She shook her head, "What did you say?" she said, turning around and facing her daughter, arms crossed.

"….I won't kill my child" Ino said, getting up, looking firmly at her mother. "I refuse to have an abortion. I refuse to kill this baby" she said, resting her left hand on her stomach.

"Besides, you didn't have to kill me when you got pregnant―"

"―That's because your father refused!" She yelled, causing Ino to silently gulp, still holding herself together. "He was happy about it, and we got married a couple of weeks after that because he was responsible enough to have his own family."

"Gaara IS responsible enough to have his own family as well, our family" Ino exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at her mother who chuckled.

"You two aren't in a relationship, let alone barely trying" she said, narrowing her eyes. "If it was up to me at that time, I would've got rid of the baby I got pregnant with…" she said, "…YOU" she continued, looking at the ground. Ino blinked a couple of times before her tears strolled down her cheek.

"So…" Ino started, narrowing her eyes, "…You didn't even want me, to begin with." She said, looking at the ground and nodding slowly.

"You will abort this pregnancy, Ino, You must" she said, closing her eyes. Ino smirked, "I told you I won't―"

"―YOU WILL!"

"I Won't!" Ino yelled, running out of her room, not caring whether her mother followed her, or her father would wonder what in the world is happening or Gaara became worried when he saw her in that state. She just wanted to get out of the house, and that's what she did. She knew her father would be angry with her if he knew, probably for eternity, but Ino had already made up her mind.

_'I won't have the abortion, mother, I won't',_ she thought as she ran away from home.

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**I―HAD―TO―FINISH―THIS―CHAPTER!! Lame Ending, I know! **

**Please tell me what you think. If you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to PM me. Thank you! **


	6. Chapter VI

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**Reviews: **

Cheese Maiden: I might do what you just said, I mean, the Neji part. I have this feeling that Neji would appear more in my story as well. (Cuz I'm secretly his girlfriend XP) but I might get some things in between. Thanks for your review! I'm glad you think this is suspenseful

Kirri kitty + Kilulu: You guys!! I missed you. Thx Kirri for the explanation about the 8!+# thingy! I'm glad you both liked this chapter. Yeah, Poor Gaara, he would probably have no chance in saying what's inside his heart. Thx for your review and good luck with your stories which ROCK! Loved the poem, TEBAYO! Double Trouble!

Cookbook24: I'm glad you liked it. I thought about the abortion thing in the last minute cuz I figured Ino's mom was being too cool about her pregnancy! Thx for you review.

FallenTearsOfBlood: Ha-ha, Would you really do that? I'm very happy you like this story. Please stay tuned. Thx for your review!

Blazejinx: Thank you for your kind review. I'm glad you liked it. Yeah, Ino's mother is lame and I hated her after writing the previous chapter. I hope you like this one as well.

Oktoberfest: I'm really glad that everyone hates Ino's mom, Hehehe. Thx for your review

Blackmisery: Thank you for your review. I'm so glad you liked it XD

If there's anyone I've forgotten. Please forgive me. Thank you guys for your great support, Love you all! This chapter is yours!

I apologize for the big delay. Thank you for waiting!

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**That Night, Chapter 6:**

Gaara looked right and left for any sign of Ino. He managed to follow up to her when she went out of the house, but he lost her along the way as she sped up her pace, disappearing into the crowd.

And now, he's been looking all over for her for the last couple of minutes, but there wasn't any sign of her anywhere.

"Ino!" he yelled, in hopes she would answer his callings. He walked the long wide street, looking right and left for the blonde.

"Ino!" he called again, turning around, looking behind him. Gaara sighed and turned around, losing hopes in finding her.

He was startled when someone held his hand and dragged him along, "I-Ino" he said, looking at the blonde as she made her way through the crowd, pulling him along.

A couple of seconds later, they were both in an alley way between two houses. Gaara knotted his eyebrows, not figuring out what was going on.

"Look, I'll say this one more time…" She said, looking at his straight in the eye. "…I've decided to keep the baby. The question is, are you or are you not ready to help me with it?" she asked, glaring at him. Gaara chuckled and turned his head to the side.

"How many times do I have to tell―"

"―As far as I know, you still haven't told dad, have you?" she interrupted, tears in her eyes. "You're not ready, Gaara, it was all of a sudden and you're not ready" she said, leaning on the wall. He looked at the ground, resting his hands on his waist.

"What do you want me to say? That I'm not? Is that what you want, Ino?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. She nodded, "yes, that's what I want to hear from you, I want you to say that you're not ready because after this…" she said, taking a deep breath. "…there's no turning back. You're committing to me and to your child." she said, breathing heavily.

Gaara blinked a couple of times, looking at the ground._ 'Commit? That's a huge step! But that's what I should do, I did this and this is my responsibility…'_ he thought, looking at Ino who was waiting for his answer. _'…am I really ready? Committing to her meaning that I won't be able to leave Konoha, but I have my commitment to Sunagakure, my village, my father the Kazekage and to the people of the village. My siblings won't accept this…'_

"So?" she asked, crossing her arms. "You're not ready, are you?" She said, shaking her head, chuckling nervously and impatiently. "Just say it, god damn it, say it!" she yelled, causing Gaara to lose it.

"I'M NOT READY FOR THIS, ALRIGHT?!" he yelled, not aware of the effect of his words.

"…."

"I can't leave my life behind! I can't just throw everything, my past, Suna and everyone behind just to―" he said, finally pausing when he noticed the look of disappointment on her face.

Her breath was caught in her throat. She looked at the ground, tears filling up in her eyes. She prevented herself from blinking so the tears won't drop. She nodded slowly, walking away. Gaara stood still, looking at the spot where she stood. He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.

"I'm not ready for this"

* * *

"What did you just say?"

That was Inoichi's reaction when his wife told him the whole situation. He sat down, unable to comprehend the words she said.

Ino's mother was standing next to her husband, arms crossed. "…then a couple of minutes earlier, I told her that she should have an abortion―"

"―And?" he interrupted, glaring at his wife. The latter turned her head to the side, looking at the ground.

"She stormed out, just like you saw" she said, sighing heavily. He looked at the ground and narrowed his eyes.

"What does Gaara have to do with everything?" he asked, remembering that Gaara was trying to tell him something.

His wife chuckled, "Gaara…" she mumbled, shaking her head. "…he's the whole problem" she said, making Inoichi look quizzically at her. "The whole problem?" he repeated, waiting for his wife to explain.

"He's the father of Ino's child. You've just figured that out?" she angrily said, sitting on the couch across of the one he was sitting on. Inoichi kept his eyes glued to the coffee table in front of him.

"He…is?" he said, blinking a couple of times; remember that he might have been trying to tell him the truth:

_"…I've been spending a lot of time with your daughter in the past couple of months and…I wanted to tell you that―"_

Before his sentence was interrupted by Ino who ran out. Inoichi sighed heavily, rubbing his temples.

"Where is she now?" he asked, looking at his wife with narrowed eyes. She shook her head sadly. "I-I don't know, you saw her storm out." she said, looking disappointingly at the ground. Inoichi widened his eyes and got up.

"Well, I don't like my baby girl being out there alone" he said, knotting his eyebrows. His wife gasped.

"So, you're going to pat her on the back and say that it's ok―"

"―If that's what could help her in a time like this then yes!" he yelled, walking a couple of steps away from his wife.

She sighed frustratingly and turned to face her husband "I can't believe you!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "I understand that you care for her because she's an only child―"

"―I care for her because I don't want to lose another child!" Inoichi turned around, his hair flipping around as well. His wife looked at the ground, remembering that they've lost one child before.

"I'm not going to stand and do nothing while my teenage pregnant daughter is out there!" he yelled, turning back around and walking out the door, leaving his wife to gape at him before shaking her head.

"Inoichi, you're as mad as your daughter" she said, sitting down, sighing heavily.

* * *

She walked down the street, still in a shock from hearing his words as they ran in her head over and over:

_"I'M NOT READY FOR THIS, ALRIGHT?!"_

She hugged her arms, unaware of her surroundings. She felt as though she was walking alone in a cold empty street after having the most shocking revelation in her life.

She looked up at the sky, sighing heavily. "At least he decided to back out before it was too late" she mumbled, looking down at her yet growing belly. Then she remembered something:

_"I'll be here for you, Ino."_

That's what he said when he first knew. She chuckled, _'What a liar'_ she thought. Ino sighed and continued on her way, she walked along the street and took a turn.

"OMPH!" she got out when she bumped into someone, falling on her butt. She winced, apologizing to the person. "I'm sorry, I didn't know where I was going" she said. It was true; her mind was on so many things she couldn't concentrate well on her destination.

She felt herself being raised on her two feet; she looked at the person and almost gasped.

"S-Sasuke-kun!" she said, surprised. It has been a while since she saw him. Ino actually wished she'd never see him, not after his words of affection which were boldly declared to her.

"Hey, Ino" he said, smiling innocently. She blinked a couple of times, smiling at him before shaking her head.

"Oh, I'm sorry for bumping into y―"

"―It's alright. You don't have to apologize, really!" he said, chuckling and waving his hand in front of his face. Ino narrowed her eyes, noticing that he was being very non-Sasuke, but she decided to ignore that fact.

"So, you're walking alone today. Where's Gaara?" he asked, hitting a nerve. She blinked a couple of times, looking at the ground.

_'He's not ready…'_ she thought, swallowing. She looked up and widened her eyes at Sasuke who had a quizzical look on his face.

"What do you mean 'Not ready'?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. Ino realized that she might've thought a bit too loud.

_'I have to find a good lie to cover for it'_ she thought as a bead of sweat started to appear on her forehead. "Not ready to…have lunch, Yes, I-I told him that h-h-he can have lunch with us and…eh…he didn't show up"

_'Good one, Ino!'_ she thought, faking a smile at Sasuke who didn't seem very convinced.

"Alright…" he said, sliding his hands into his dark blue pants' pocket. "…speaking of lunch, how about we have some lunch, you and I?" he asked, his lips pressed together to form a thin line, moving his hands out of his pockets, clasping them together, pointing them back and forth between them. "…as friends, nothing more, I swear" he said, grinning. Ino blinked a couple of times.

_'Where is he going with this?!'_ she thought, narrowing her eyes at him. Ino noticed that he was, perhaps, a bit sincere.

"So?" he asked, pouting. She chuckled and shook her head, looking at the ground.

_'Maybe he really wants to have lunch as friends. Besides, what else would I do now?'_ she thought, lifting her head up to see that he now had a puppy-eyes kind of look on his face, making her laugh.

"Ok, Ok, I accept…" she said, pointing her finger in his face, "…but only as friends" she said, putting a stern expression. He eagerly nodded.

"Only as friends." He repeated.

"Nothing more…"

"Nothing more!"

"…and No funny things"

"No funny things!" he said, nodding. She narrowed her eyes at him and laughed, making him laugh as well.

"So, where are you taking me today?" she said, smiling.

"Hn" he mumbled and turned around, walking off. Ino shook her head and followed him. "So you're not going to tell me where you are taking me?" she asked, tilting her head to face him. He looked at her and smiled.

"Wherever you want to go" he said, adding a smirk in the end. Ino put finger on her chin and thought.

"Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen bar!" she said, excited. "Somehow, I'm craving for Ramen!" she said, laughing. Sasuke smiled and nodded.

"Ichiraku ramen it is" he said, confirming. Ino smiled and walked ahead of him, not noticing the mischievous smile he had on his face.

_'I'll find out what's between you and that Suna-shinobi before I make you mine, Ino-chan'_ he thought, smiling sincerely once he noticed Ino was looking at him and smiling.

* * *

**An hour later…**

"Thank you for lunch, Sasuke-kun" she said, smiling. He looked at her and nodded, "No worries. After all, that's what friends are for, right?" he said, giving her one of his grins.

Ino stared at him for a while before smiling, "right" she said, walking on his side. Sasuke slid his hands in his pockets, clearing his throat.

"So, Ino, do you want me to walk you home?" he said, narrowing his eyes at her reaction. She froze in her place, eyes widening at the ground.

"Um, Sasuke, err…" she hesitated. _'Should I tell him? No, he doesn't have to know everything about my life…'_ she thought, gulping. "…I'm going home by myself" she said, speeding up her paces. She was startled when she was pulled by her arm and turned around to face him.

"Ino, What's going on?!" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. She stared at him, her eyes started to tear up. "It's nothing" she said, looking at the ground.

Sasuke noticed something was up. He held her shoulders and looked straight in her eyes. "Ino, You're going to tell me what's wrong and I'm not going to take no for an answer…" he said, rubbing her shoulders with his thumbs. "…does it have to do with you fainting in the mall?" he asked, making her look up at him.

Ino was crying; her cheeks were wet as she started sobbing lightly, "kind of…" she said, slowly turning around and walking away. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and walked behind her, following her silently.

"You can tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone" he said, looking innocently at her. She looked at him and nodded slowly. He sadly smiled, "Let's go to my place. So you can make sure no one hears you" he said, moving his right hand to hold hers and walking ahead, pulling her along.

She didn't know what he was up to; the plot was only in his head

_'I'll find out what's going on, finally'_

* * *

In five minutes, Ino told him the whole story, intentionally skipping the part where she mentioned the reason behind her sleeping with Gaara. Sasuke was sitting agape after hearing the whole story.

"…and then he said that…" she continued, looking at the ground. "…he wasn't ready for it" she said, taking a sip from the tea Sasuke made for her.

"Wow…" that was the only word to leave his mouth. He was shocked of the fact that she slept with Gaara, got herself pregnant and ran out of her house.

"…I don't think I want to face mother or father. She wants me to have an abortion and I don't want that. Thankfully, dad doesn't know yet" she said, looking at the ground, her eyes tearing up.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, feeling sorry for her. He smirked, making sure she didn't catch it. "You can stay with me until you figure something out" he suggested, smiling at her. Ino raised her vision towards him, gaping.

"B-but Sasuke―"

"―no buts. You're staying!" he said, getting up. Ino followed got up and followed him.

"Look, I'll be a burden to you"

"You're not…" he said, turning to face her. She blushed when she noticed how close they were, but none of them moved. "…you never were, Ino-chan" he said, smiling. "I-I might need some company here. You know I live by myself" he said, looking at the ground. Ino blinked a couple of times, not realizing what she was about to do. Her hand unconsciously reached for his cheek, making him look up at her.

"It's ok, Sasuke-kun" she said, smiling. "…I don't have any place to go to, anyway" she said, caressing his cheek. Sasuke closed his eyes and nodded, breathing deeply, leaning his forehead against hers. The cool metal of his forehead protector against her forehead made her shudder.

"Sasuke-kun…" she said, causing him to open his eyes. Deep baby blues pools looking right into his black orbs, holding her breath in the back of her throat. She gasped when he claimed her lips with his. Ino tried to break the kiss but he was too strong, it was like the last time they kissed.

_'Damn you, Sasuke'_ she thought, closing her eyes and giving in. she snaked her arms around his neck and kissed back while he held her waist, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. A few minutes later they broke it, gasping for breath.

"We shouldn't…do this" Ino said, still having her eyes closed. Sasuke looked at her and chuckled, "Why not?" he asked, forcing her to open her eyes. She gulped and moved her vision to the ground, both still holding each other. She opened her mouth to speak, but…

"What's going on here?!" they heard a voice, that perky voice. They both jerked their heads towards the door, to see their pink haired friend who was, as Ino recalled, Sasuke's girlfriend, standing at the doorway with many paper bags in her arms.

They both pulled away, standing away from each other. "Sakura…" Ino started, looking at her friend who was already crying.

"..Listen―"

"―No, I don't want to hear anything…" Sakura said, tears strolling down her cheek. She moved her vision from Ino to Sasuke who was looking at the ground, no shame or regret on his face.

"…and you…" she said, narrowing her eyes at him, causing him to look up at her, "…I thought you were faithful to me―"

"―Yeah, well, things change" he replied, causing both Sakura and Ino to gape at him. He moved his eyes towards Ino and smirked, making her breath get caught in her throat.

_'Did he intentionally do this? Did he plan for this?'_ she thought, before she was snapped out of it by the sound of the slamming door, paper bags on the ground.

"Sakura!" Ino yelled, running after her. Sasuke called her name but she didn't stop. She opened the door and followed her friend. Sakura walked as fast as she could, trying to avoid Ino.

"Sakura, please hear me out―"

"―There's nothing to be heard…" Sakura turned around, facing her friend and glaring at her. "…I-I trusted you with everything. I kept telling you everything about Sasuke and me. I trusted you whenever you were around him and that's how you thank me? By Sleeping with him?"

"I did not sleep with him, I…." Ino said, looked at the ground and closed her eyes. Sakura narrowed her eyes when she noticed that her friend wasn't replying to her. Her glare softened as she looked at Ino who didn't seem very well.

"Ino…" she said, walking closer to her friend. "…A-Are you ok?" she said, knotting her eyebrows. Ino looked up at her, her face paler than usual.

"Y-yeah, I'm ok…" she said, looking at her friend's hurt expression. "…Sakura, I don't know how to explain. It is my fault, I'm sorry" she said, sighing heavily. Sakura looked at the ground and nodded.

"At least you had the guts to follow me and apologize" Sakura said, smiling sadly at her friend. "Uchiha didn't follow me to explain things…" she continued, referring to her boyfriend by his last name. Ino looked at the ground, nodding slowly.

"I-I want to apologize"

Ino lifted her head up in a surprise. _'S-she wants to apologize?!'_ she thought as she watched her friends shed some tears.

"I've been so stupid not to notice…" she started, wiping her tears away. "…at first, I ended our friendship because of a guy…" she said, remembering how she told Ino when they were kids that they should be rivals and see who would win Sasuke's heart.

"…I-I mean, you're totally Sasuke's type, I'm just a pink haired, regular girl who kept whining about everything and anything. Never in my life have I believed that he had chosen me to be his girlfriend…" she continued while Ino listened carefully.

"…I see they way he looks at you and I know you want to be with him but your loyalty to me gets in the way, right?" she asked, chuckling sadly. Ino looked at the ground and nodded slowly.

"…I saw everything at the mall, what happened between you and Sasuke. He never spoke to me in the way he did to you" she said, smiling. "I think he loves you more than he loves me" Sakura said, looking at the sky.

"I never believed I would end up with him. It was all a dream, a dream that I had to wake up from one day. Today is that day." she said, turning around.

"Sakura…" Ino mumbled, narrowing her eyes. Sakura smiled and looked up, not realizing that her friend was calling her for another reason.

"You don't have to say anything. I'm not mad at you―"

Her sentence was cut when she heard a thump which made her turn around. "INO!" She gasped, seeing her friend collapsed on the ground. Sakura kneeled and held her in her arms.

"She's exhausted…" Sakura mumbled, moving her arms beneath the girl's thin figure. Sakura was able to carry heavy things thanks to the excruciating training given to her by Tsunade. With Ino being out of the Heavy things list, she got up with the blonde in her arms and ran as fast as she could towards her house.

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**There ya go. Chapter 6 is over now xD**

**Lame chappie, I know but I promise to make the next one better than this!**

**Please review. **


	7. Chapter VII

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**Reviews: **

Blackmisery: I will. Thank you for your nice review.

RomeArrow13: If I made that Uchiha a main character on a Gaara x Ino story, don't you think Gaara should be in every single chapter? He will, don't worry. Thank you for your nice review.

Cchicotoo: Ah, another SasuIno fan XD. Don't worry; I'll be adding both the pairing in the next couple of chapters.

Cheese maiden: Well, I'm actually glad they did too. Sakura will show up in this story more than I thought. Till now, Gaara and Sasuke have never come face to face with each other, except in the hospital. Thank you for your review.

Gaara'sbutterfly: -nod- I agree. But I think leaving Sasuke would be pretty hard for Sakura for some reason. Gaara might not be able to tell her how he feels. Wait and see. Thanks for your review.

Oktoberfest: Oh yeah, I love those $$holes as well. Thank you for your review.

madame nonchalant: hehe, yeah, I kinda felt embarrassed by that. Like I told you, English is not my native language so I always mix up those two words. I corrected it. Oh, and Go ahead, slap him for all I care xP. Thanks for the correction and the review.

Liaish: OMG. Well, our emo friend has surely proved that being a crappy boyfriend is possible. Ha-ha. I'm so evil xP. Thank you, fellow Gaara supporter XD

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**Got back to Kuwait -my home country- last night so I hope this chapter doesn't suck. **

**_-Sigh-_**** I do not own Naruto, the characters or their personalities…err, I guess their OOCness is mine. **

**Enjoy!**

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**That night, Chapter 7**

She opened her eyes, blinking to remove the blur that has formed during sleeping. Ino rubbed her eyes and sat up, looking at her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she mumbled, checking her bedroom. _'Wait, this is not my bedroom'_ she thought as she looked around; Pink was the main theme of the room.

She moved her vision towards her left where the bed stand was, '08:30pm' the clock read. She sighed and moved her legs to the side of the bed, getting up.

Ino stretched, finally removing all traces of tiredness. The room was dark; the moonlight was coming through the bed-side window, making it a little bit brighter. She sighed, walking towards the door, turning the knob and getting out.

She slowly started recognizing the house, finally making sure when she walked into the living room where the TV was turned on. In front of it, on the couch, sat her pink-haired friend.

"Sakura?" she mumbled, making her friend turn around before getting up. "Hey, you're awake!" she said, walking towards her friend with a smile on her face. "You got me so worried back there" she said, rubbing the back of her neck. Ino chuckled lightly, looking at the ground.

"Why did you bring me here?" Ino asked, looking at Sakura who had a puzzled look on her face, before turning into a serious one. "Let's sit down, Ino" she said, walking back towards the couch. Ino nodded and followed, sitting down on the couch with her. Sakura turned off the TV and turned to her friend.

"I diagnosed what made you faint…" she started, making Ino widen her eyes before turning her head to the side. "…so I figured that you can't go to your place, otherwise your parents will be freaked if they knew" she said, looking at Ino who was at the verge of tears.

"Are you going to tell me about―?"

"―No!" Ino interrupted, making Sakura wince a bit. She realized that what she did wasn't right.

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura…" she said, looking at her hands, fumbling with them. "…I'm just not taking it very well" she said, looking at Sakura with tears welling up her eyes.

"Is it Sasuke?" Sakura bluntly said, making Ino look at her shockingly. "No, No. It's not…" she sighed, before continuing, "…Sakura, don't think foolishly. I never did anything with Sasuke…" she said, looking at Sakura who had a hurt expression on her face.

"…I can see you haven't forgiven me yet" Ino said, chuckling nervously. Sakura shook her head, "No, that's not it. If he was the father then I would've killed him" she said, firmly. "I'm not going to stand still while my best friend is…well, pregnant" she said, shrugging. Ino laughed.

"I'll try to handle everything. I might just…leave" she said, looking at the ground.

"Leave?" Sakura questioned, blinking a couple of times. "Leave the house, leave Konoha, and leave everything behind!" Ino said, clarifying her words. "Mom is telling me to have an abortion and I don't want to. I don't know whether dad knew or not" she said, sighing heavily. Sakura nodded and rested her hand on Ino's shoulder.

"You can stay here, until you figure out everything" she said, smiling. Ino shook her head, "I might just spend the night here. I don't want to cause you any trouble" Ino said, causing her friend to sigh.

"Alright…" she said, smiling. "…but you're always welcome here, no matter what the reason was" she said, grinning. Ino smiled, "Thank you, Sakura" she said, smiling.

"We'd better get some sleep, you should too, for the safety of you-know-who" she said, poking Ino's belly. She chuckled.

"I slept for a long time, I'm not really tired" Ino exclaimed, sitting back, facing the TV. "What's on at the moment?" she asked, looking at Sakura who had the remote in her hand. "Don't know, let's check!" she said, turning on the TV, watching whatever was on.

**

* * *

**

He was tired, not physically, but mentally. Too many thoughts were crossing his mind. He didn't know whether he made the right choice or not.

"I promised, and I didn't keep it" he mumbled, sighing heavily. The sleepless nights came haunting him back. Gaara couldn't rest in his bed, so he decided to take a stroll.

"A lot on your mind, I see"

Gaara looked to his right, "Hyuuga Neji…" he mumbled the name of the person that stood there. He cleared his throat before continuing "What are you doing out here?" he asked, looking at the narrow-eyed Hyuuga.

"The same reason you're out here…" he said, "…the inability to sleep" he continued, walking towards the Suna shinobi.

"You seem…" Neji said, pausing for a second "…troubled" he continued, looking at Gaara who sighed heavily. "Let's say that things happened the way they shouldn't" He exclaimed, looking at Neji who nodded.

"Want to share?" he said, looking right into Gaara's narrowed eyes. The latter shook his head.

"No" he said, walking off. Neji smirked, "I bet it's about Ino…"

Gaara stopped dead in his tracks, turning around slowly. "…I saw the way you acted in the hospital. You care for her" he continued with his usual smirk on his face.

Gaara narrowed his eyes, "What if I do? Is there something wrong with that?" he said, facing Neji. The latter shook his head, "Not that I know about. Is that what's troubling you?" Neji said, walking towards Gaara who took a seat on one of the benches along the way.

"It's alright. I won't tell" Neji said, sitting next to Gaara. "They say I'm good at keeping secrets. I never tried, though" he said, chuckling. Gaara chuckled before sighing heavily. A silent mood took over both of them.

"Is it that huge?"

"It's Life altering!" Gaara quickly replied; silence took over him again. "What happened?" Neji asked, turning a bit to face him.

"Let's say that I have this….friend…" Gaara said, apparently trying to change the story. "…and that friend did something with another friend and got her pregnant…" he continued, trying to look as calm as possible, "…once that friend of mine found out that his friend was pregnant, he decided to help her with the baby but then he….broke his promise" Gaara said, looking at Neji who had a dumbfounded look on his face.

"All that…" he said, moving his index finger, indicating what he'd said, "…happened to your friend?" Neji asked; the hint of sarcasm was in his voice. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"Do you want to help or not?" Gaara asked, receiving a nod from the Hyuuga. "So, from what you said…" Neji said, pausing for a second, "…you got Ino pregnant?!" he said, a bit surprised.

"She doesn't want to have an abortion and now I…I don't know what to do" Gaara said in defeat. Neji nodded in understanding.

"Do YOU want to help her? Or you're just too afraid of what's coming?" Neji asked, causing Gaara to confusingly look at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, titling his head fully towards Neji. The latter sighed, "What I'm saying, this situation is like you put it 'life altering' and it's a huge step in both of your lives…" Neji said, looking at the ground before moving his vision back to Gaara.

"…it's obvious that you're nervous and no wonder, you've got yourself in a big trouble there." Neji said, patting Gaara on the back before getting up.

"Oh, one question…" Neji said, sliding his hands in his pockets, "…but you have to answer it without thinking" he continued, receiving a glare from Gaara. "This is not time for play―"

"―I'm not. Seriously" Neji interrupted, making Gaara nod, agreeing on the rule of the question.

"How do you feel about Ino?"

"I love her"

Neji smirked while Gaara moved his vision to the ground, "Then follow your heart. It's the only thing that would lead you to the right choice" Neji said, walking off, leaving Gaara to think about his words.

_'Do I really love her?'_ he thought, _'or are those just mixed feelings?'_ he fumbled with his hands, _'Can I really help her? Would I be able to be who she wants me to be?'_

Gaara spent the rest of the night thinking about the right decisions. He knew deep inside that he always loved being with her, loved her personality, loved her style and loved just about everything about her. He wasn't certain of his feelings, not until that night they spent together.

"That's it…" he said, getting up before sitting back down. "…that's not it" he exclaimed, holding the sides of his head. "Arrgh, I don't know what to do" he said, frustrating. He sighed heavily.

"I should go home, that should do it for now" he mumbled, getting up. Gaara looked at the sky, took a deep breath and exhaled it, knowing how long that night was going to be for him.

**

* * *

**

**A couple of hours later…**

"Yeah, she came here last night"

Ino's eyes shot open, hearing Sakura's voice talking to someone.

"Alright, we'll be waiting" Sakura said, hanging up the phone. Ino sat up, realizing that she has fallen asleep on the couch. She got up and rubbed her neck which ached her, making her groan. Sakura turned her head towards the blonde once she heard.

"Good morning" she cheerfully said, smiling at Ino who narrowed her eyes. Sakura titled her head to the side, "Hey, are you ok?" she asked, receiving a nod from Ino.

"I'm alright, who was on the phone?" she replied, moving her legs to the side of the couch. Sakura smiled and walked towards her friend, sitting next to her.

"Your father" she bluntly said, causing Ino to widen her eyes. "He asked where you were. I think he's worried about you"

"I can't believe you told him where I am!" Ino spat, getting up. Sakura blinked a couple of times.

"I believe you'd want him to know where you are. He deserves it"

"No, he doesn't!" she yelled back, pacing around frustratingly. "He doesn't even deserve me as his daughter, not after what I've done" Ino said, sobbing. Sakura looked at the ground as Ino continued.

"I…failed him when I was supposed to make him proud. Instead of being a great Yamanaka ninja, I'm getting him an illegal grandchild" Ino said, sobbing. Sakura narrowed her eyes sadly and slowly moved her arm around her friend's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Ino" Sakura said, looking at the ground. "I-I was only trying to help. He really needs to talk to you. That's why I asked him to come. He literally begged me to tell him if I knew where you were, I couldn't just ignore that" She continued, looking at her friend whose sobs started dying down.

"Was he…" Ino sobbed, "…did he sound upset or angry?" she asked, receiving a head-shake from her friend.

"Not at all, if he sounded something, I'm sure it was worry" Sakura said, reassuring her friend. "At first, I didn't want to tell him, respecting your wish, but when he said that he looked all over for you, I decided to tell him" Sakura explained, receiving a nod from her blonde friend.

"You're right. I just… don't know if I could face him"

_Knock, Knock. _

Both girls turned their heads towards the door. Sakura's mother came out of one of the rooms in the house and walked towards the door.

"It's alright" Sakura said, smiling at Ino who nodded. The door was opened to reveal Inoichi who looked a bit pale and surely worried.

"Hello, Inoichi. Please, come on in." Sakura's mother welcomed him. He nodded and walked in, looking for a sign for his daughter. When he spotted her, he smiled. "Ino…" he started, walking towards her. From the tone of his voice, she knew that he knew about her secret.

Ino got up and looked at the ground, closing her eyes. She expected him to yell at her, scolding her for doing what she's done.

Instead, he hugged her. Sakura and her mother decided that they should leave them alone for the moment. Ino was surprised by her father's actions.

"I'm sorry, princess…" he started, holding her tightly before pulling her away from him. "…I won't let your mother force you to do something you don't want to do. I promise" he said, smiling.

Ino was frozen in her place. _'Does he know? Did mother tell him?'_ she thought, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I assume you already know…" she started, looking at the ground. "…I'm sorry, father" she said, looking shamefully at the ground.

Inoichi nodded. "I know you are. I also know that you'll keep the baby" he said, putting his hand securely on her back, slowly pushing her towards the couch.

"It's a huge responsibility, Ino" he started as they both sat down. "Are you really willing to take that?" he asked, a hint of anxiety was in his voice. Ino looked at him and nodded.

"I made my choice, dad" she said, looking back at the ground, touching her stomach. "It's…pretty hard to comprehend, but I want you to support me in this. You…you're the only one I have" she said as tears started welling up in her eyes.

Inoichi narrowed his eyes, "What about Gaara?" he asked, lowering his head to her eye level. She smirked, "Turns out, he wasn't ready for this" she said, sniggering.

"That bastard!" He spat, "If I saw him, I'm going to―"

"―Dad, please. It's his choice and I don't want to force him" Ino firmly said. "But it's his responsibility"

"It's his life, dad." Ino said, taking a deep breath. "I gave him the choice and he made it" she continued, looking at the ground. Both of them remained silent for a moment before Ino decided to speak up.

"I'm staying with Sakura, dad…" she bluntly said, looking at him with empty eyes before looking back at the ground. "…Until everything is sorted out, that is" she said, not removing her eyes from the ground. Ino could hear her father shift in his place. He opened his mouth to speak up but she knew what he was about to say.

"She knows, dad, and she's willing to help me" she said, smiling at her father. "You can always come around, I'm sure Haruno-san won't mind" she said, sadly. He nodded and got up. "Of course, sweetheart, anything for you" he said, smiling at her.

Ino got up and hugged her father, "Thank you, Dad, for everything" she said, pulling back and looking at the ground. "…and I'm sorry for failing you" she shamefully said.

"You did not fail me, sweetheart. In fact, your determination to keep the baby is what makes me proud. You're a typical copy of your old man" he said, chuckling. Ino smiled and nodded, "So you admit you're an old man" she joked, receiving a laugh from her father.

"Yeah, that's why I need to see a grandchild soon" he said, holding his daughter by the shoulders. "Take care now" he said, kissing her forehead before walking off. Ino turned around and watched her father go out the door. A couple of seconds passed until Ino heaved a sigh.

_'That went well, oddly well'_ she thought, looking around for any sign of her friend.

"Sakura!" she called out, sluggishly sitting on the couch, sighing heavily. Ino smiled, happy that her father was supportive, knowing that she might not be alone after all.

**

* * *

**

He ruffled his own hair as he walked out of the bathroom and towards the kitchen. He poured himself some pre-made coffee and leaned on the counter. His guess was right; he wasn't able to bring himself to sleep. Her face, her expression when he said those words didn't get out of his head. He wanted to apologize, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to pick up the phone and dial her number, just to hear her voice.

But Gaara couldn't do it.

"Damn it" he said, taking a gulp from the cup, putting it on the counter, and walked towards his room when…

_Knock, knock_

He turned towards the door, narrowing his eyes. _'Who would come at such an early hour?'_ he thought as he walked towards the door. He realized that he was in his boxers and t-shirt, but he thought it would take too long to change into something decent.

"Coming!" he said, reaching for the doorknob and opening the door. He narrowed his eyes at the person on his doorstep.

"I see you're surprised to see me, now that I know your dirty little secret"

**

* * *

**

**I didn't feel that this chapter was as good as the previous ones but I'll try to do my best next chapter. **

**So, who was at the doorway?! He-he **

**Please review and tell me what you think XD **


	8. Chapter VIII

* * *

**Reviews:**

Ukgirl1972: We'll see about getting them together. Thank you for your review.

Liaish: the answer is in the beginning of this chapter. Thanks for your review.

kikyouhater118: Like I said to Liaish, The answer is in the beginning of this chapter xD. You guys really can't wait, can you? xP. Thank you very much for your support and review.

Cheese Maiden: now THAT was very evil. I might go with THAT person xD. Thank you for your review.

Madame nonchalant: Like I said to the girls above. The answer is in the beginning of this chapter. Thank you for your review xD

Blackmisery: I wonder who's visiting Gaara too xP. Thank you for your review xD

Emerald666: _-hits Sasuke with a spork-_ BAD SASUKE!! He's probably getting some in this one XD _–evil laugh-_. Thank you for the nice review.

Cheapsh0t: Thank you so much for the great review. I'm so glad you liked it.

* * *

**Yeah, I'm a Sasuke fan, though if it comes between Sasuke and Gaara **_–looks around-_** GAARA RULES!! **

**And after this, I'm pretty sure you'd want Sasuke killed. Nyahaha. **

**Oh, and I'm so sorry for the delay. MAJOR WRITER'S BLOCK! **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

_Previously: _

__

_"How do you feel about Ino?" _

_"I love her" _

* * *

_"I'm staying with Sakura, dad…" she bluntly said, looking at him with empty eyes before looking back at the ground. "…Until everything is sorted out, that is" she said, not removing her eyes from the ground. _

* * *

_Knock, knock_

_"Coming!" he said, reaching for the doorknob and opening the door. He narrowed his eyes at the person on his doorstep. _

_"I see you're surprised to see me, now that I know your dirty little secret"… _

* * *

****

**That Night, Chapter 8:**

Gaara smirked, looking in the eyes of Uchiha Sasuke who was looking at him with a scornful smile on his face.

"…What, don't I get a good morning?" he sarcastically said, receiving a glare from the sand ninja.

"Get to the point, Uchiha!" he exclaimed, the hint of impatience was in his voice. Sasuke smirked and allowed himself the entry to the house, walking past a shocked Gaara.

Sasuke looked around with a smirk, checking the room. "I expected no less from…" he said, turning around and looking patronizingly at Gaara, "…a monster"

Gaara balled his hand into fists, wishing to kill the damn bastard, but he decided to take things slow. "My hunch is telling me that you didn't come here to discus the decoration of the room" he said, eyes narrowed. Sasuke smirked and turned around to face him.

"Yes, of course" Sasuke said, faking a smile. "We're here to talk about your relationship with Ino, which of course, is probably because of the child"

_'So that what he meant by dirty little secret'_ Gaara thought, narrowing his eyes at him, "I see that you somehow knew about that"

"The girl told me herself, after spending the night in my place"

Gaara's eyes widened, _'There's no way she would spend the night with him, impossible!'_ he thought, trying to keep his face as straight as he could, but it was too late for Sasuke not to notice.

"Ah, yes, after you betrayed her and chickened out on her, she came to me…" he said, pointing his thumbs at his chest, "…the one she should be with―"

"―You have a girlfriend!" Gaara exclaimed, taking a step closer towards Sasuke who was smirking, "She broke up with me after seeing me with Ino"

"Liar!" Gaara spat, noticing that Sasuke was picking up the phone. "Here" he said, throwing the phone in Gaara's direction before the latter caught it. "Call her, she'll tell you that it's true" Sasuke said, looking at Gaara's surprised expression.

"It won't be long till you find her in my arms…" Sasuke said, smirking, hitting a nerve. Gaara tightened his clutch on the phone. "…probably, straddling―"

Before continuing that word, Sasuke was half a meter off the ground, held by the neck by Gaara's sand.

"If you EVER…" Gaara threatened, narrowing his now-dark eyes, "…lay even one finger on her, or even touch a HAIR on her body, I'll hunt you down" he threatened, receiving a compressed laughter from Sasuke which sounded like a snort.

"You…" he struggled with his words, "…won't…dare" he coughed, trying as hard as he could to breathe. Temari, who was out since the break of dawn, walked into the house and gasped at the scene.

"Gaara, No!" she said, pushing her brother away, causing him to loose control over the sand and drop Sasuke who gasped for breath. Gaara pushed her away and got up.

"Get out, Uchiha" he said, looking down at Sasuke who was smirking. "Fine" he said, getting up, glaring at him.

"At least I won't chicken out like you did" and with that, he was out the door. Temari got up and walked to her brother's side. Gaara looked at the ground, phone still in hand before it shattered to pieces, causing Temari to flinch.

"Gaa―"

"―I'm going for a walk" he said, leaving a very distressed and shocked Temari to pick up what's left of the phone.

* * *

"Sakura, c'mon, you're taking too long, I need the bathroom!" Ino exclaimed as she loosened her hair, running her hand through it before walking towards the locked bathroom, knocking on the door.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'll be out in second!" Sakura yelled from inside, causing Ino to shake her head. She walked towards the bed and looked at the collection of clothes her friend had offered to share with her. Sakura and Ino were both the same size, making Ino chuckle.

"Let's see…" she said, picking up a ¾ white pants and a yellow spaghetti strap top that belonged to the pink haired ninja.

After a couple of minutes, Sakura walked out of the bathroom and looked surprisingly at Ino who was staring at her reflection in the mirror.

"What's wrong?" Sakura said, walking towards her friend and looked at the mirror as well. Ino sighed.

"It's getting tighter…" she said, touching her outer thighs, indicating the extra weight she gained. Sakura laughed and looked at Ino.

"You're supposed to gain weight!"

"Yeah, I am but not during the first month!" Ino exclaimed, sighing heavily. Sakura looked at her friend and smiled.

"No one will notice, TRUST ME!" Sakura said, reassuring her fashion freaked friend. "Besides, you look bright. Your glow will steal the thoughts off of your body" she joked, giggling. Ino shook her head, "Yeah, sure" she sarcastically said, taking one last look at the mirror before running towards the bathroom.

A couple of minutes later, she got out and smiled at her friend.

"C'mon, let's go!" she said, pulling Sakura by the hand and walking out the door.

* * *

Ino and Sakura were supposed to go shopping and having ice-cream, probably catch a movie. Turned out, Sakura had other plans.

"Oh, look at that. It's so cute!" Sakura exclaimed, picking up a pink baby outfit. Ino shook her head at what her friend said next.

"We should buy this!"

"…and let everyone know that I'm pregnant, hell no!" she said, walking out of the babies section before stopping in her tracks, slowly turning around.

Ino smiled at one of the outfits which was the last one on stock; it was blue with a drawing of a horse being fed by a small child with spiky hair, written on it in white and blue: _'every pony gets its treat'_

"Ino, are you there?" Ino turned her head to the side before looking back at the outfit, picking it up.

"This is nice, don't you think?" she said, turning around to face Sakura, showing her the outfit.

"I thought you didn't want anyone to know you were pregnant" Sakura exclaimed, crossing her arms. Ino chuckled, the hint of sadness in her voice.

"I won't be able to hide that fact later on" she said, looking up at Sakura with tearful eyes before putting the outfit on its hanger. Sakura bit her bottom lip and walked closer to her friend, hugging her.

"It's ok, it's ok…" she said, looking beyond her friend's shoulder as she comforted her. Sakura widened her eyes. "…it's not ok, shit!" she said, pulling out of the hug and pulling Ino along as she walked away.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

"He's here!" she exclaimed, pointing at the doorway. Ino turned around and widened her eyes.

"What the…?" she said, hiding with Sakura behind a nearby counter. They both watched as Gaara looked around the shop for something.

"What is he doing in here?" Ino asked, narrowing her eyes as he walked closer to them, towards the babies section.

"More like, what's GAARA doing in the BABIES section?" Sakura said, watching as he started looking at baby clothes. Ino narrowed her eyes as he picked one, studied it before walking towards the counter.

Ino and Sakura raised their heads and looked at the item in Gaara's hand: blue, pony…

"DAMN IT! HE TOOK MY OUTFIT!" Ino yelled, causing him to turn around at the sound. "Eek!" the girls exclaimed, lowering their heads quickly.

Gaara heard a very familiar voice that caused him to turn around, searching the area, but there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary.

"Here you go, sir" the cashier girl smiled, handing Gaara the small bag. He nodded and took one last look at the shop before walking out.

After they'd made sure he left the shop, Ino and Sakura got up, receiving weird looks from a couple of costumers.

"Why do you think he bought it?" Sakura said, looking at her friend who shook her head in disbelief.

"I….I have no idea" she said, looking at the doorway with tears in her eyes, wondering what was in Gaara's head.

* * *

"Hey!" Ino exclaimed as she spotted her best friend and teammate in one of the restaurants. Shikamaru got up and smiled, hugging her.

"Hey…" he said, quickly pulling her out of the hug, "…quick question: have you seen either Gaara or Sasuke?!" Shikamaru asked, receiving a glare from both girls. He had no idea that both Sakura and Ino didn't want to even think about them.

"Yeah, unfortunately we found Gaara shopping!" Sakura blurted out, receiving a nudge from Ino. "Hey, I didn't say where he was shopping now, did I?" Sakura said, receiving a glare from Ino. Shikamaru decided to ignore their conversation.

"Thank goodness" he exclaimed, looking at the ground. Ino narrowed her eyes, "Why? What happened?" she said, fearing the worst about those two. Shikamaru shook his head.

"Nothin―"

Ino held him by the collar and brought him closer, "―Either you tell me what happened or I'll snap your neck!" she suddenly yelled at him, causing him to lose the color of his face. Sakura knew that hormones were taking action.

"Uh, err…." Shikamaru got out, gulping, "…Ok, Ok, I'll tell!" he said, frightened by her change of personality.

After a couple of seconds, Shikamaru regained his composure, "Temari told me that she found that Gaara was about to kill Sasuke"

Both girls gasped as Shikamaru continued, "Apparently, some argument lit up between the two and caused Gaara's outrage at Sasuke. She said that Sasuke said something about Gaara being a chicken, or something like that" he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ino looked at the ground, unconsciously touching her stomach. Shikamaru chuckled, "I'm sure everything's fine…" he said, noticing that Ino was spacing out. "Hey, Ino, you ok?" he asked, causing her to look up at him with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm good" she replied, nodding. Shikamaru shrugged before narrowing his eyes at Ino.

"Did you gain some weight?"

_'Oh, boy'_ Sakura thought as she noticed that Ino was about to burst in flames. Shikamaru gulped, noticing the glare he got from Ino. "Look, I'll get back with you girls later" he said, running off.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Sakura said, causing him to stop and turn around. "I'm getting Temari a present, her birthday is in a couple of days" he said, saluting before disappearing into a puff of smoke.

Sakura moved her vision towards her friend who was in a trance. "Hey, I'm worried about those idiots as well" she said, putting a hand on Ino's shoulder. Ino looked at her friend and nodded.

"Yeah, look, why don't you go home, I'll meet you there in about an hour" Ino exclaimed, walking away. Sakura called her back.

"You're not going to try anything stupid, now, are you?" Sakura asked worriedly about her friend. Ino shook her head.

"Don't worry about me, just go back, if someone asked, I'll be back in a few" she said, walking off to her destination, unknown to Sakura.

* * *

He sat down on the couch; bag in hand as the tic-tock of the clock was the only sound filling the silent room. Gaara had no idea why he went there or why he bought it. He thought it'd be a good idea to get himself to accept the fact that he was going to be a dad after all.

_'It feels weird…'_ he thought, _'…I'll be called: father'_ his thoughts continued as he closed his eyes and leaned his head backwards, sighing heavily.

KNOCK, KNOCK

Gaara tilted his head slightly to the side, looking at the door. He had no intention whatsoever to get up and open the door. How we wished for his siblings' presence in the room that moment

KNOCK, KNOCK

The knocking continued, forcing him to groan loudly and get up. He walked with heavy steps towards the door, intending to kill that person if it was who he thought it was.

He jerked the door open …

…and it was the last person he expected to see.

"I-Ino…" he mumbled, looking at the face of the girl he betrayed. Her face brought back all the words he said to her, all the pain that he caused to both her and himself.

Ino looked at him with a firm expression on her face, "May I come in?" she softly asked, her voice indicating that there was something to talk about. Gaara took a step to the side, letting her into the house. He never removed his eyes from her figure as she walked in, not wanting to regret seeing her and give her no attention at all.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, gulping. Gaara had no idea why she was here; all he noticed is that she was focusing her attention at a certain item on the couch.

"I…" she started, looking at the ground, "…I saw you at the clothes shop today…" she said, turning around to face him, her cheeks red for no apparent reason.

Gaara knew she didn't have to continue, he knew he had to explain for himself. He looked at the ground and sighed.

Before he opened his mouth to speak, she talked. "I'm not here to discus your little trip to the babies section to steal what's actually mine…" she said, causing Gaara to raise an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm here to discus what you did to Sasuke" she blurted out, glaring at him. Gaara chuckled, lowering his head and closing his eyes _'So, that's why she's here. I knew there was a catch'_

"What are you laughing at?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him. He shook his head, opening his eyes and looking at her. "Nothing, it's just Ironic that you both came to visit me today"

"You almost killed hi―"

"―because he insulted you" Gaara interrupted, yelling. Ino narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"I can't believe you!" she said, groaning out loud and throwing her hands in the air. "You use ME as an excuse for EVERYTHING!!" she yelled, looking unbelievably at him. Gaara shook his head, narrowing his eyes.

"You didn't hear what he said!" he yelled back, taking a step closer "You think I like it when I find out that you've slept with him?!" He yelled, receiving a disbelief look from her.

"Who said I slept with him?" she asked, widened her eyes. Gaara had lost it, deciding to say what was in his mind.

"He did..." he replied, anger was in his eyes. "…Tell me, were you or were you not at his place last night?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Gaa―"

"―Just answer the question!" he exclaimed, taking a step closer towards her. Ino looked at the ground and nodded, causing him to chuckle, shaking his head.

"Figures, whenever you're feeling depressed about something, you go sleeping with the nearest guy there is―"

SLAP!

Gaara found his head turned the other way as his cheek felt like burning up. He gulped, not looking at her.

"How dare you say that?" she said, tears forming in her eyes. "For your information, I did not sleep with him and I don't do that with _the nearest guy there is_…" she repeated his words, tears strolling down her cheeks. Gaara still hadn't moved to face her, instead, preferred to keep his face lowered to the ground.

"…and speaking about sleeping with guys, if it wasn't you that night, I wouldn't have done it…"

His head sharply turned to face her, narrowing his eyes at her, _'What did she mean by that? Does she have the same feelings as me?'_

"…but somehow, I'm starting to regret letting you in my life…" she said, crying.

"…you had no reasons to do what you did to Sasuke. Did you even think about what could happen if you ACTUALLY killed him?" she continued, shaking her head.

"…I don't understand why you even, why you even bother to buy that thing if you weren't going to help me…" she said, pointing at the bag which was resting on the couch.

Gaara looked at the ground, he knew that no words would be said to make things right whether it was to fix the situation that just happened or fix their entire relationship together. In that moment, he remembered his confession to Neji:

_'I love her'_

He looked up at her, seeing that she went silent with more tears filling up in her eyes.

"Sasuke was right when he told you that you chickened out, because you're not man enough to take responsibility"

That word hit him; _responsibility_. It meant so much to him. Gaara always wanted to take responsibility for his actions. After what he did in his life, he knew taking responsibility would fix everything, he knew it would help people forget about his past.

He knew it could help him in finding someone he cared for…

…and he actually found her, found the person who was, in one way or another, asking him to be with her, telling him that their night together might've meant something. Gaara narrowed his eyes, looking at the ground.

"That's what you always do. You never say what's on your mind…" she said, sobbing lightly. "…You've hurt me yesterday and you've hurt me with what you said…" she said, shaking her head.

"There's no room for regret, Gaara" she said, walking off towards the door. He jerked his head towards the door, wanting to stop her from leaving. He had so much to say, so much to do, yet she was further away from him to stop her by hand.

Ino stopped in her tracks when she felt herself being held by the waist and turned around. She looked around her waist to see a thin line of sand, gently wrapping her and turning her around to face its owner.

"Gaara…" she said, looking up at him to see him looking at her; she could see that he wanted to say something but it was probably too hard for him, she noticed the hurt expression in his eyes, she knew that there was so much to be said.

He slowly started walking towards her, the sand never letting her go; indicating that he never even wanted to let her go. She had no idea what he intended to do, she just felt herself freeze in her place.

Her head kept telling her to move away as he started closing in on her, but something told her to wait, wanting to know what would happen if she stayed. She didn't move when his right hand reached for her cheek to wipe her tears away as he mumbled the words _'I'm sorry'_, she didn't move when the sand around her waist was replaced with his left arm, she didn't move when their bodies were brought closer, she didn't move when his face inched closer to hers…

…she sure didn't move when his lips touched hers in a soft yet passionate kiss.

Ino gasped, widened her eyes before she closed them, kissing him back, resting her hands on his chest, wanting to push him away and break this kiss. Yet something told her that she wanted this, she wanted this closeness and love that she had that night. She felt that it was so right, being with him, kissing him as he held her close to him.

Ino was so lost in the kiss that she didn't realize he already pulled away, his eyes closed while still holding her close.

"Ino, please listen to me…" he mumbled, gasping for breath. Ino wanted to listen to him, but she knew that it would hurt her even more.

"I'm tired of listening to you, Gaara…" she sobbed, lowering her head, "…I know what you're going to―"

"―Then you know how I feel!" he said, looking deep into her baby blue eyes. She nodded, pushing herself out of his arms. "I know how you feel about helping me with the child―"

"―That's not what I meant!" he interrupted, causing her to go silent for a moment. "What I meant is that I…" he said, finally wanting to tell her how he felt, how he always felt, even before their night together.

"That you what?! You always do that; you always want to say something yet you don't say it. What is it that you want to say this time?" she asked, waiting for his response.

_"How do you feel about Ino?" _

_"I love her" _

Gaara paused for a moment, looking at her hurt expression which was anticipating for something he wished he'd known. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Ino shook her head, crying, and turned around to walk out the door. Gaara opened his eyes and said the three words every girl would want to hear…

"I love you…"

* * *

**Yup, he said it. Our good ol' pal here grew up **_–cries-_

**You think this sucked? You wanted to kill Sasuke? Or me? **_–shudders-_

**Please review before you do that. **


	9. Chapter IX

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**Reviews:**

Gaara'sbutterfly: well, we'll see if she'll accept his words. Thanks for the review.

Liaish: You'll find out in this chapter. I know, their baby would be some sort of a cute panda plushie with red hair and baby blue eyes _–hugs plushie-_ Hahaha. Thank you for the review

Cheapsh0t: YAY! NOT YET!! And yeah, although I like Sasuke, I really don't know why he talks more and does less, Hehehe. Thank you for the review

Gothcat: aw, _-hands Kleenex over to you-_ save your tears for later _–evil laugh-_ yeah, I'm known that I'm evil, Hahaha. Thank you for your review. I'm so glad you like it.

Madame nonchalant: I know, I want to kill Sasuke too _–thinks of a plot to get rid of the Uchiha prodigy-_ anyways, I KNOW, Gaara saying "_I love you"_ isn't something we see everyday. Thank you for the nice review.

kikyouhater118: Hahaha. He finally said it, didn't he? Well, you'll see her reaction. Thank you so much for the review.

Blackmisery: Aww, thank you so much. Thank you for the nice review, it made my day.

Ukgirl1972: Ha-ha. I think all fan girls would hunt ME down if they read this, fan boys would probably hunt Sasuke down for trash talking Ino. Hahaha! Thank you for the great review.

Kichijutsu no Pare-do: hey, yeah, Sasuke's mind is a bit screwed. Thanks for the review

Saka Salrin: OH YEAH, HE FINALLY DID IT!! SASUKE RULES, I mean SUCKS! LoL _-looks around to find Sasuke fan girls at her back-_ err, thanks for the review, SEE YA!!

Oktoberfest: Mmmmmmaybe _–evil grin-_ Maybe not! Thanks for the review

* * *

Oh, and I think I mentioned earlier that Gaara is not a Kazekage, I repeat, He's **_not the Kazekage_**, although he's been kidnapped by **_Deidara_**, he is **_NOT_** the Kazekage.

* * *

**-Tabs on mic-**** Ahem, testing, 1, 2, 3…Ladies and Gentlemen, Here are the nominees for being the biggest badass jerk in my story: **

1) Uchiha Sasuke: for being such an $$

2) Ino's Mom: for asking Ino to abort.

3) Gaara: for being very OOC!

**Hehe, Enjoy the story, folks. **

* * *

_Previously: _

_Gaara opened his eyes and said the three words every girl would want to hear… _

_"I love you…" _

* * *

**That night, chapter 9**

She paused, slowly turning around. _'Did I hear it right? Did he just say…?'_ Ino faced him and looked at him right in the eye.

"W-What did you just say?" she asked, wanting to be sure that her mind didn't play games on her. He stood silent for a minute before repeating.

"I love you, Ino, I always did. It's not because of our night together, but it's because of everything you've ever done before…" he said, surprising her with his words. Ino could see the glitter in his eyes as he went on, telling her how he felt.

"…I know that…you're surprised to hear this right here, right now, but I just…couldn't keep it inside anymore" he said, pausing, as if waiting for a reply.

Ino stood there like a deer in the headlights, still registering what he said. "G-Gaara…" she mumbled, eyes welling up with tears.

He gulped, seeing her tears slowly make their way down her cheek wasn't a scene he wanted to see, it wasn't something he expected. He slowly walked towards her, wanting to hold her in his arms.

"Please…" he mumbled as his hands held her forearms. She shook her head and pulled back, taking a step backwards.

"No, Gaara!" she said, crying. "You did not just say that…" she said, sobbing, "…that you're falling in love with me"

"I did not say that. I said that I'm already in love with you, Ino, can't you see it? I always told you that, I told you that the other night, you just don't remember!"

Ino looked at the ground, trying to remember the small details of that unforgettable night with him. She remembered:

_Flashback: _

_He pushed her inside, kissing her neck and nuzzling on it. She turned around without a word and kissed him, helping him slip his jacket off as his shirt was halfway unbuttoned. He held her waist, pushing her down on the couch as he continued on with kissing her. Ino did not complain nor said a word, making him quite uncomfortable. _

_As soon as he lips reached her neck, his hands started roaming her body and his fingers reached to unbutton her shirt, she vaguely remembered his words as he spoke to her… _

_… "…I love you" _

_End flashback:_

She noticed that she had been silent for a while, her cheeks wet with tears as he stood in front of her, waiting for her to reply.

"Ino, Please, say anything…" he mumbled, taking a step closer, "…don't leave me hanging" he said, the hint of frustration could be heard in his voice.

Ino looked at him, not sure of what to say. She might've been secretly wishing that he would see her as more than a friend, especially after everything that had happened.

"I-I don't…" she mumbled, taking deep breaths. Gaara noticed that she moved her hand towards her stomach, looking at the ground.

He took a couple of steps till he got right in front of her, trying to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry for everything…" he started, noticing that he tears were dropping to the ground.

"…when I told you I wasn't ready, I lied. I was willing to help you but I was just…" he said, taking a deep breath, "…afraid, scared of what's coming"

"Didn't you think that I was as scared as much you were? Probably even more?!" she asked, looking at him while trying to hold back the tears. Gaara nodded, taking one step closer to her.

"I know and I'm sorry…" he said, noticing that she broke in tears. "…I…I'm willing to help you, Ino" he said, causing her to look up at him with a shocked expression as he continued.

"Yes, wanting to be with you was the reason that made me buy that…" he said, waving his hand in the couch's direction, "…to help me accept that fact" he said, chuckling.

Ino cried, looking at the ground. Gaara knew there was a lot to do to make her forgive him; he wasn't going to give up on her just yet.

"I'm willing to stay with you…" he said, feeling a lump in his throat as she looked up at him with more tears welling up in her eyes. "…not because I have to, but because I want to" he said, taking a step closer to her, holding her arms. Ino lowered her head, crying.

"I'll say this one more time…" she said, looking up at him, sobbing. "…promise me you'll be here for the baby" Ino said, holding back the tears.

Gaara smiled and nodded, "I promise, Ino…" he said as the tears unwillingly filled his eyes. She cried and took a step closer to him, burying her head in his chest as he held her, heaving a sigh, happy that he was able to hold her in his arms once more.

"I promise you!" he repeated, kissing the top of her head as he felt her wrap her arms around him as well. "Okay?" he asked, receiving a nod from her. He chuckled, noticing that she's still crying. Gaara pulled away and looked at her as she lowered her head.

"Look at me…" he said, still holding her in his arms, "…Ino, please" he said, causing her to look up at him, her face red and puffed.

"I'm sorry…" she chuckled, wiping her tears away. "…I don't want to cry but I can't stop myself" she said, sobbing. Gaara chuckled and hugged her again, loving how it felt to hold her close.

A couple of minutes later, her cries died down. She pulled out of his embrace and looked up at him. "Tell me…" she started, wiping her tears. "…What did Sasuke tell you?" she said, taking a step backwards. Gaara looked at the ground, decided to tell her the story.

It took Gaara a couple of minutes to explain the whole situation, both of them were sitting on the couch with Ino looking agape at him.

"He said that?!" she asked, surprisingly. Gaara nodded, sighing. "Then I lost it, I just…" he said, remembering that if it wasn't for his sister, the Uchiha's neck would've snapped in half.

Ino looked at the ground, _'why would Sasuke do such thing?'_ she thought, before widening her eyes and gasped.

Every little detail about Gaara, Sasuke and herself returned to her memory. When Sasuke came to visit her:

_"Let's just say that he likes to keep you for himself, thinks of you as his own property" Sasuke said, walking out the door. _

…When she asked Gaara about Sasuke's visit at the hospital:

_"Question, why didn't you let him in when he wanted to visit me at the hospital?" she asked, making Gaara knot his eyebrows. _

_"Didn't let him in? What are you talking about?" he asked, causing Ino to turn around and walk off. Gaara followed her as she walked with quick steps. _

_"I never prevented him for going in."_

"Ino…" Gaara started, looking at her as she spaced out and knotted her eyebrows. Ino realized what Sasuke was doing.

"He's trying to break us apart" she said, looking at Gaara who narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" he asked, shifting his position so he was fully facing her. Ino looked at the ground, "The note you left…" she said, remembering that Gaara told her about a note he left at her place, "…I didn't read it, because Sasuke was in the living room…" she mumbled, looking up at him.

Gaara blinked a couple of times, "So, you really think he took it, now?" he said, remembering how she didn't believe him when he told her the truth.

"I-I have no idea…" she said, sighing, burying her face in her hands. Gaara slowly reached her hand to put it on her back, caressing it softly.

"Calm down, you don't need to do this to yourself…" he said, receiving a nod from her. "I'm going to make you something to eat." he said, getting up. She raised her head to object, but he was already in the kitchen.

Ino sighed, looking around. It was her first time at his temporary place in Konoha. It wasn't bad, though it was a bit plain; white walls, a couple of couches and a coffee table in the middle and a cell phone, presuming that it was Gaara's, right next to the couch. There was no TV, no house phone or anything that could be used for amusement.

_'I wonder how Kankurou reacts about this―' _

Her thoughts were cut when the cell phone rang. She looked between the phone and the kitchen, seeing if Gaara would come over and answer it.

"Ino, could you get that for me?" he yelled from the kitchen. "Sure!" Ino exclaimed, picking up the cell phone. She glanced to see who it was, but there was no name or anything.

"Hello…err, this is Gaara's cell phone. May I ask who you are?"

"Temari?" a male voice said, sounding quizzical. Ino automatically raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no, this is not Temari. May I ask who you are?" she asked, waiting for the person's reply.

"Is Gaara or Kankurou around?" the man asked again, ticking Ino off. "Look, unless you tell me who you are, I won't tell you if they were here" she said, sounding angry. She waited a couple of seconds before hearing the four words that startled her…

"This is the Kazekage."

Ino's eyes widened, _'Shit, It's Kazekage'_ Ino thought, looking at the kitchen. She noticed that Gaara came back with a sandwich on a plate, looking at her quizzically.

"Who is it?" he mouthed, noticing that Ino was almost pale as she held the phone against her ear.

"Uh, yes, hold on a second" Ino said, holding the phone in Gaara's direction. "It's…It's your father"

Gaara's eyes widened, his face went pale for a second before taking the phone from her, giving her the plate.

Ino noticed the tensed state Gaara was in as he slowly raised the phone to his ear, "Father" she heard him say, looking at the ground. Ino wondered what they were talking about, or more like what the Kazekage was talking about. All Gaara did was saying, "Yes" or sometimes hum as in agreement.

Ino looked at her plate, which had the sandwich Gaara made. She wasn't hungry, but she didn't want him to feel that he wasted time over making it. She looked up to see that Gaara was walking towards the other side of the room, talking about something with his father. A part of her wished she could hear their conversation, but Gaara was too far away from her hearing range.

"Father, I can't." Gaara said, glancing at Ino who was staring at the sandwich. "What do you mean you can't? I'm asking you to come back to Suna, what's wrong with that?" Kazekage said, a hint of astonishment was in his voice. Gaara sighed,

"I have obligations in here―"

"―More important than your obligation to your own village?" he interrupted. Silence took over both of them as Gaara refused to reply.

"Gaara, you're coming back to Suna with your siblings, that's final!" and with that, he hung up, leaving Gaara hanging in the middle.

Gaara lowered his vision to the ground, still holding the phone against his ear as the disconnecting noise was still beeping. He knew he had two options, either A) listen to his father and go back to Suna, break Ino's heart and leave her and his child alone carelessly, or B) Disobey his father's order and help the one he loved with their child.

Again, he was lost between his obligations to his hometown, and taking responsibility for his actions.

"Gaara…" he lifted his head; her voice brought him from his trance. "…Is everything alright?" Ino said, causing him to turn around. She was standing a couple of feet away from him.

He blinked a couple of times, looking at her as she had a worried expression on her face. Gaara faked a smile, lowering the phone to his side, pressing the off button.

"Everything is fine" he said, nodding reassuringly. Ino knew something was wrong as he walked past her and placed the phone onto the table before sitting down, sighing heavily. She turned around and kept looking at him until he looked up at her.

"What?" he asked, causing her to shake her head, "Nothing, nothing at all" she said, taking a couple of steps forwards before sitting next to him.

A couple of seconds have passed and none of them said a word. Ino looked at the ground and sighed.

"He's asking you to get back to Suna, isn't he?"

Gaara widened his eyes, looking at her. _'How could she hear that? Could she read my mind?'_ he thought, wondering if her mind-altering ability had something to do with telepathy and mind reading.

"N-No, Ino, he didn't" Gaara lied. He knew he shouldn't have, but the words blurted out even before he thought about them.

Ino looked at him, knotting her eyebrows. "Are you sure?" she asked, taking a deep breath. Gaara knew that it was too late for him to tell her the truth, so he nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I'm sure" he said, reaching for her hand. He thought, he probably made his choice already. If he hadn't told her his father's words, then that could mean that he won't listen to his father and would stay with her.

Ino smiled and held his hand, getting up. Gaara looked quizzically at her. "I have to go. Sakura's waiting for me"

Gaara nodded, getting up, still holding her hand. "Right" he said, letting her walk towards the door, letting go of her.

Ino opened the door and turned around, "See ya" she said, receiving a nod from him. She was about to leave when she turned to face him, looking at him with a smile.

Gaara was startled as she took a step towards him, tiptoed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you" she said, smiling at him before walking off.

He looked at her as she walked away. Gaara never took his eyes off of her till she disappeared into the distance.

He closed the door and leaned on it, sighing heavily. The Kazekage's phone call wasn't a pleasant one to him. He shook his head, trying to get his head off of his words:

_"Gaara, You're coming back to Suna with your siblings, that's final" _

"Just when things have got right…" he mumbled, sliding down the door. "…You had to call" he said, burying his face in his hands, thinking about a way to figure everything out.

* * *

Kankurou was walking down the street, whistling one of his favorite songs, holding a couple of grocery bags in both his hands. The last time he opened the fridge; he didn't find anything edible and wondered where his siblings eat. _'I've never seen Gaara eat anything and Temari probably starves herself to death' _

He thought, walking with a goofy grin on his face. His cell phone suddenly rang, causing him to struggle with the bags. He carried all the bags in one hand and reached for the cell phone.

"Yellows!" he answered in his typical way.

"Kankurou, contact Temari. Code red!"

Kankurou widened his eyes at his brother's words. They have agreed that _code red_ would mean that it's something related to their father.

"I'm on it!" he said, hanging up and running as fast as he could back home, dialing Temari's number. Unfortunately, her phone was turned to voice messages only.

"Yo…" he said, trying to make his words as clear as possible as he ran. "…Code red. It's code red, Get back home immediately!" he hung up, flash stepping towards the Hokage building.

* * *

"So, what's stopping us from going home?" 

A couple of minutes passed since Kankurou and Temari got their red code alert. Kankurou sat on the couch; Temari sat next to him on the arm while Gaara leaned against the wall.

"Nothing's stopping you…" he said, looking at the ground. "…it's me who's not going" he said, looking up at his siblings who were agape.

"W-What do you mean you're not going?" Temari asked, looking at her younger brother heaving a sigh. "You're not staying here because of Sasuke, are you?" she asked, receiving a smirk from Kankurou.

"He's not staying here because of Sasuke. It's because of Ino" he said, smiling. "You love her, don't you? She's the girl you've been thinking about for quite a while now"

Gaara went silent, confirming his older brother's doubts. "Look, we'll just go back and see what Dad wants, and then you could come back. No big deal"

"I can't afford leaving her behind…" Gaara interrupted, "…I just…can't even leave" he continued, his voice going softer. Kankurou narrowed his eyes at his brother, before looking at his sister then back at Gaara.

"What is it, bro?" he asked, knotting his eyebrows. Gaara sighed and looked at his siblings.

It took him only a couple of words to explain the whole situation, from the beginning till that moment, making Kankurou go furious on his brother.

"What kind of irresponsible action is that? How are you going to take responsibility for it?!"

"Kankurou, please…" Temari tried to calm him down, but no avail.

"Did you know about this?!" he turned to face his sister who was a bit worried about him. She shook her head. "I had no idea about this, but please calm down"

"Calm down?! How do you expect me to calm down?! The boy got her knocked up and you tell me to calm down?! How would it like to be explained, that the Kazekage's son, former host of Shukaku, got some girl from Konoha pregnant?! ILLEGALLY?! Dad needs this no more…" he said, turning around to face his brother.

"…and you―" he said, pausing, noticing that he wasn't there. "Gaara?" he asked, looking around the room. Both noticed that there was no sign of the red head anywhere.

"Where the hell did he go now?" Kankurou asked, sitting down. Temari heaved a sigh, knowing that a disaster between her siblings might've been avoided.

"Kankurou, he probably went off to think about this"

"There's no thinking about it. Either he's going, or not!" he said, looking at his sister before storming off into his bedroom.

* * *

He walked down the street, away from all that noise at home. He hated it, being treated like a young boy. He was seventeen and capable of taking responsibility. Gaara chuckled, doubting everything he's done 

"I'm contradicting my own words" he said, walking between Konoha citizens. He always wondered why the streets were always busy, whether they were during night or day.

His thoughts wandered into somewhere else, wandered to her and their unborn child. She was still in her first couple of months, heck, she was probably still in her first and he had no idea whether he'll be there for her or not.

Gaara needed a place to think, a place away from all those people. He took a turn to the left, going through one of the alleyways along the way. He sighed, leaning his back against the wall.

"Damn it…" he cursed his luck, looking at the ground. He never thought coming to Konoha would cause all that trouble.

"Why did I come here anyway?" he said, closing his eyes, and then all of a sudden, he heard something piercing through the air.

He sharply jerked his head to the left, a sand wall appearing in front of him, protecting him from whatever was coming at his way.

The sand wall disappeared after making sure the threat was gone. Gaara looked at the item resting in front of him on the ground.

"Kunai…" he said, looking at the direction of where it came. _'No one's there'_ he thought, picking up the Kunai. On its handle was a piece of cloth. He could see the piece of paper beneath it. He removed it and picked up the paper, reading it.

_Team 7 training grounds, duel. _

_Sasuke_

Gaara smirked, shaking his head. He didn't know whether to ignore him, or to go there. Either way, he knew that if Sasuke provoked him in anyway, he would be dead. He tightened his grip on the paper and smirked, already making his decision.

* * *

Ino spent the time from the moment she arrived to the house telling Sakura how she was very happy about Gaara's decision and that she never expected it. Now, half an hour later, the girls were in Sakura's bedroom. 

"So…" Sakura started, having a spoonful of the big strawberry-vanilla ice-cream bucket that sat in between them on the bed. "…What do you want to call the kid?" she asked, looking at Ino who was sharing the ice-cream.

"I don't know…" she said, putting a huge spoonful of the ice-cream in her mouth, "…I wonder if Gaara wants to choose the name" she said, shoving her spoon in the ice-cream bucked, and leaned back on the bed, sighing heavily.

"What, you're full already?!" Sakura asked, looking at her friend whose eyes were closed. "Nobody gets full of just eating ice-cream, I'm a living example"

"Chouji is a living example!" Ino exclaimed, laughing along with her friend.

_Knock, knock _

"Yeah?" Sakura replied, knowing that it was her mother. "Sakura, Lee's downstairs. He needs both of you"

The girls looked at each other before getting up quickly, opening the door and walking downstairs along with Sakura's mother.

Sakura was the first to get downstairs, seeing Lee pacing back and forth in the living room. Once he spotted the girls, he sighed.

"Thank God you two are here!" Lee exclaimed, looking worried. Sakura walked towards him. "What's the matter, Lee-san?" She said, anxiously waiting for his reply.

"I just saw Sasuke walk into team 7's training grounds!" he exclaimed, taking a deep breath. Sakura sighed, narrowing her eyes at Lee.

"I thought it was something serious. Sasuke always trains there, even if he's alone―"

"―He's not!" he exclaimed, looking at both girls, "I saw Gaara walk into the grounds a couple of minutes after him…" he said, making Ino widen her eyes, "…They don't usual train together, do they?"

Ino looked at the ground, remembering Shikamaru's words:

_"Temari told me that she found that Gaara was about to kill Sasuke"_

"Oh, no…" Ino mumbled, "…they're going to fight!" she exclaimed, looking at Sakura whose eyes widened as well.

"If it happens, they're going to kill each other!" Sakura said, looking at Lee who shook his head.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Lee exclaimed, running towards the door, Sakura followed, but they both stopped once they noticed the Ino froze in place.

"Ino, C'mon!"

The girl looked at both of them and nodded, following them out the door, praying that nothing would happen to both of them.

* * *

Sasuke leaned against one of the three logs that stood in the middle of the grounds, holding a Kunai in his hands. He threw it in the air and grabbed it, repeating the process over and over again, waiting for any sign of the red-haired ninja. 

"You're afraid to fight me, aren't you?" he mumbled, looking as far as the eyes could see, narrowing his Sharingan-activated eyes.

He heard a couple of footsteps, announcing his presence. Sasuke turned around to see Gaara, walking towards him with a smirk on his face.

"I see you decided to show up" Sasuke said, a malicious smile upon his face. Gaara narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms, glaring at him.

Both stood a couple of feet away from each other as the wind hit both of them. Sasuke still had that smile on his face, while Gaara's expression turned into his usual blank one

"Let's fight …" Sasuke said, taking a stance, "...till one of us hits the ground"

* * *

**Whoops! Out of papers xD **

**What do ya think so far?! Now, the fan girls' dreams came true. Will a fight occur between our sweet beloved (Gaara), and probably one of the most hated characters (Sasuke)? **

**Find out, next week xP **

**Please review! **


	10. Chapter X

* * *

**Reviews:**

Saka Salrin: one vote on Sasuke, ladies and gentlemen. Well, cliffies are very important. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Thank you so much for the review.

Gaara'sbutterfly: Yay! The fight; It's every reader's dream. You'll see if Ino makes it on time, stay tuned! Thanks for the review.

Ukgirl1972: _-laugh evilly-_ LoL, yeah, every one says that I'm evil, am I really that evil? I hope that too. Wait and See, thanks for the review.

Liaish: LoL, save your tears, hun, save 'em for later. There's still 8 months to go for Ino. But I think Sasuke's behind is going to be full of Kunais for a very, very, VERY long time. Thank you for the review.

Blackmisery: Nyahahahaha, There's a great possibility that either of them will win. Thanks, glad you like it.

Cheese Maiden: I DID notice your disappearance. First, you're right. Second, I KNOW! I wanted to bring another outfit but I thought one was enough, for now. And the about the best part, _-hugs herself-_, I KNOW! Teehee. The question is: WILL she tell him? Kazekage-sama is a jerk xP thank you for the review, glad you love the story.

Cheapsh0t: Yeah, major cliffy! Glad you liked it. Thanks.

Cchicotoo: Though I like both of them as well, it's hard for me to make a draw between the two. You'll see what happens in here xD. Thanks for the suggestion and the review xD

Madame nonchalant: LOL! Double-sided, are we? Yeah, Kankurou was forgotten, LOL! I want him to make an appearance but I don't know how or when xD. Thanks for the review.

**WOOO, a back2back update for my two stories! I'm so happy (xD) **

* * *

_Previously: _

_"…__promise me you'll be here for the baby" Ino said, holding back the tears. _

_Gaara smiled and nodded, "I promise, Ino…" _

* * *

_"Temari told me that she found that Gaara was about to kill Sasuke" _

* * *

_Before continuing that word, Sasuke was half a meter off the ground, held by the neck by Gaara's sand. _

_"If you EVER…" Gaara threatened, narrowing his now-dark eyes, "…lay even one finger on her, or even touch a HAIR on her body, I'll hunt you down" _

* * *

_He could see the piece of paper beneath it. He removed it and picked up the paper, reading it. _

_Team 7 training grounds, duel. _

_Sasuke _

* * *

_"Let's fight …" Sasuke said, taking a stance, "...till one of us hits the ground" _

* * *

**That night, chapter 10:**

They both stood still, glaring at each other until Sasuke took his stance.

"Let's fight till one of us hits the ground" Sasuke said, smirking. Gaara stood as calm as possible in his place, his face as expressionless as always.

"I just came to tell you that you should probably grow up instead of acting like a five-year-old"

Sasuke's left eye twitched at his words, making him smirk. "hn…" he started, "…and you think I would be provoked by you choice of words? Think again, Shukaku"

Gaara narrowed his eyes as the sand-cork of his gourd popped out and fell a couple of inches away from him.

_'He's in a fighting mood, excellent'_ Sasuke thought, grinning evilly. Sand grains were slowly making their way out of its owner's gourd. Gaara smirked.

"Is that your way of fighting? I never knew the only survivor of the Uchiha clan could talk his way into a fight"

Gaara narrowed his eyes when the Sharingan owner disappeared all of the sudden, putting him on guard.

He moved his eyes right and left, looking for any sign of him, when all of a sudden, Sasuke appeared behind him, hitting him with full force.

Gaara turned his head to the side and smirked as his sand wall automatically protected him.

"You think those old school tricks are going to work on me?" Gaara said, ordering his sand to fly towards the Uchiha who managed to flash step up and away before landing gracefully on the ground, looking up at Gaara with a smirk on his face.

"I managed to hurt you once, and I'll do it again" he said, forming some seals before holding his right arm while his left palm was upwards.

"I'll show you…" Sasuke said, smirking. Some sort of lightening ball formed in his hand. He grinned, knowing that Gaara would be finished with that move.

Gaara narrowed his eyes, knowing that he's seen that move somewhere. Sasuke smirked and charged with full force towards.

"Raikiri!" He yelled, thrusting his palm towards Gaara who was quickly surrounded by his sand and was sent a couple of feet back.

"Now we're talking" Sasuke said, jerking his head to the side, cracking his neck and laughing sinisterly. Gaara got up on one knee and rested his left hand on the ground; his sand armor was beginning to break.

_'I'm not done yet' _Gaara thought, raising his other hand high. Sasuke's eyes widened as the Sand Shinobi's hand hit the ground with a loud crash. Sharingan eyes narrowed as a low grumbling sound was heard.

_'It's getting closer…'_ Sasuke thought, looking for the source of the sound. As the grumbling sound got closer and closer, Sasuke felt the earth shake.

_'It's from beneath!'_

Sasuke realized what Gaara's plan was, but he was a bit too late. Sand burst out from beneath, shooting him a couple of feet backwards. Sasuke recovered while in mid-air and formed seals.

"Katon, Ryuuka no Jutsu!" he yelled, moving his index finger in front of his face and exhaling a dragon of fire towards Gaara who was simply protected by his sand.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and formed another seal, blowing out small fireballs towards him. They weren't effective against him, making Sasuke narrow his eyes as he landed on the ground.

_'I have to get past that shield, now or never'_ he thought, panting and glaring at Gaara whose sand armor was recovering on his skin.

Both of them remained in their places, glaring at each other as if they were both trying to find a weakness point. Sasuke smirked.

"Are you afraid to attack?"

Gaara remained in his usual personality: calm, silent and dangerous. His sand was surrounding him, being on alert for any suspicious movement from the Uchiha prodigy.

The sand started charging towards Sasuke again. He was able to dodge them and prevent himself from being crushed by the sand's force. Sasuke landed a couple of feet from the last hit and looked at the ground which now had holes.

"Aggressive, are we?" he said, running towards Gaara, and landed a couple of combo punches and kicks on him. Of course, Gaara stood in his place while his sand did the job.

* * *

Sakura, Lee and Ino ran as fast as they could towards the training ground, fatigue was taking its toll on Ino as she was panting loudly. Sakura called Lee and both stopped, turning to face Ino

"Ino, you should―"

The blonde didn't listen to her and continued running past her and Lee. "Ino, Wait a minute!" she called, running after her friend. Lee sighed frustratingly and followed the girls.

Ino panted, beads of sweat started to form on her face. _'Gaara, Sasuke… don't be foolish'_ she thought as she could see the entrance of team 7 grounds.

* * *

Sasuke cursed when his hand was caught in the sand. He tried his best to release himself but his eyes widened once he noticed the look on Gaara's face.

_'Damn it!'_ Sasuke thought before he was lifted off the ground. Gaara smirked, spinning Sasuke by the hand before throwing him towards one of the three log pillars in the middle. A loud groan came out of him as his back smashed against the middle log, making him fall helplessly on the ground, blood strolled down his lips.

Sasuke pushed his back against the log as Gaara was standing in his place, smirking at him. He raised his palm in Sasuke's direction.

"You asked for it" Gaara said as his sand floated in the air. Sasuke panted, pushing himself up on his feet, wiping the blood off the side of his lips.

"It's not over, Gaara" he said, bracing himself against the log. Gaara smirked and jerked his hand in Sasuke's direction, ordering his sand to move at an incredible speed.

Gaara's eyes widened when he noticed a white and yellow blur pass his vision and stand in front of Sasuke, arms spread as if defending him. Gaara widened his eyes as he realized who that was.

"Ino!" Lee yelled, noticing that Gaara's sand was charging fully at her. She never blinked; instead, she closed her eyes, deciding to protect Sasuke from Gaara.

It all happened in a second when Gaara spread his arms to the side, splitting the sand in half, hitting both the first and the third pillar, missing the one Sasuke and Ino were at.

Ino stood in her place, eyes closed and breath caught. She slowly opened her eyes to meet his. Gaara furrowed his eyebrows, shaking his head while panting.

She narrowed her eyes at him before hearing a groan behind her. "I-Ino…" she turned around to see Sasuke, barely able to move. Sakura and Lee ran towards Gaara while Ino kneeled next to Sasuke.

"Can you move?" she asked, not caring that he tricked her, Sakura and Gaara. All she wanted to know about was his health.

_'Why? He's a liar and a bastard! Why am I caring for him?' _

Sasuke groaned, "Yeah, I'm ok. But you're crazy, pulling a stunt like that…" he said, banging the back of his head against the log. He slowly got up while Ino helped him a bit.

"…you were lucky he was aware of you. Otherwise, his sand would've hit―"

"―I should've let him kill you the moment he had the chance…" she whispered, taking a step closer to him. "…You arrogant little bastard" she continued, narrowing her eyes at him.

"What did I do now?" he said, quickly shifting his vision at the trio, standing a couple of feet away. Gaara's eyes met his as he smirked, moving his eyes back to Ino.

"You know exactly what you've done" she threateningly said, narrowing her eyes at him. "C'mon, Ino, just because we shared a kiss, doesn't mean―"

"―doesn't mean you exaggerate it into a make-out session!" she said, a bit too loud. Gaara narrowed his eyes, wanting to interrupt the whole conversation, but Lee and Sakura were talking with him, probably preventing him from killing the Uchiha.

Sasuke sighed, "Look, I had to make him leave you" he said, shrugging. Ino gaped, "Why do you want him to leave me when you know why he's even staying?"

"…Because he doesn't care for you, Ino!"

"Yes, he does!" she said, throwing her hand to the side. "He loves me and he's staying with me" she said, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself.

Sasuke laughed, "Don't forget that he's from Sunagakure" he said, smirking. Ino narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?" she asked, looking quizzically right into his dark eyes.

"He has obligations and duties to his own village…" he said, smirking. "He's from Suna, You're from Konoha. Do the math, Ino, He's not staying here for long. Sooner or later…" he said, glaring at Gaara, "…he's gonna have to leave you. I figured it'd be better to make him leave you sooner than later after things get complicated" he said, looking at her still-ever-growing stomach.

Ino looked at the ground, studying Sasuke words in her head. "Didn't anything suspicious happen during the last couple of days?"

The question he asked brought that morning's scene to her memory, when Kazekage called.

_'Why would he call if it wasn't for the safety of his village?'_ she said, looking at the ground. She couldn't notice the hidden lop-sided smile Sasuke was giving off. Ino continued to daze off and let Sasuke's words affect her.

"You know I'm right, Ino-chan, and you know that I would never leave you, just like he's planning to―"

"Ino" her head shot up when she heard her name being called, causing her to turn around. Gaara stood behind her, glaring at Sasuke.

"C'mon, I'll take you home" he said, never breaking the eye contact with Sasuke who was smirking, giving Gaara a bad vibe.

"You know what? I just…need some time alone" she said, shaking her head before walking off. Both Gaara and Sasuke followed her with their eyes, both having the same worried feeling about her, except one of them was planning on making her his own.

"Stay out of my way, Gaara" Sasuke mumbled before storming off, following Ino. He was stopped by a tug on his hand. As soon as he turned around, he was punched square in the face, causing him to fall to the ground with a bloodied nose.

"Gaara-kun, that's enough…"

Gaara turned his head to the side to see a worried Lee and Sakura, looking at him while Lee continued, "…we don't want any trouble!" he continued, blinking a couple of times. Gaara glared at him before moving his eyes towards the Uchiha.

"Better be thankful that you're butt's been saved by a girl" and with that, he walked off. Sasuke gritted his teeth, got up and turned around.

"She's mine, Shukaku!"

Sasuke thought his words would stop him, but Gaara ignored him and continued on his way. Sakura could tell that he was confused, probably hurt about that whole situation. She looked at the ground, being hurt by Sasuke's actions herself.

"Sakura-san…" she heard Lee's voice, causing her to look at him. He had a smile on his face and a soft expression in his big black eyes.

"…Do you want to stay and talk to him?" he asked, looking at Sasuke who had his hands in his pockets and his back to them. Sakura smiled and shook her head.

"I want to go home…" she said, looking at Lee and smiled, "…please"

Lee smiled and nodded, "Sure, allow me to walk you home, Sakura-san" he politely said, causing Sakura to chuckle.

"Sure, Lee" she said, smiling and walking off with him, leaving Sasuke all alone in the training grounds, wiping the blood off his nose.

* * *

"Ino!"

She stopped and turned around to see Gaara, running towards her. She looked at the ground and sighed as he reached her.

"Wait, you gotta let me explain"

"Explain what? That you want to kill him?" she said, narrowing her eyes at him. Gaara chuckled, not believing her words again, turning his head to the side before looking at her.

"He asked for it…" he said, reaching for his pocket. Ino narrowed her eyes as he brought a small paper out and handed it to her. "…here"

Ino took the note Sasuke sent to Gaara and read it before looking at him, "So you just agreed?" she said, a hint of sarcasm was in her voice. Gaara opened his mouth to speak up, but she beat him to it.

"No, no, you know what, forget it. I don't want to hear any of your excuses about your childish behavior" she said, raising her hands in defense before walking off. Gaara groaned and walked after her.

"Ino, C'mon, I went there to talk to him but he wanted to fight me so bad. What did I do wrong?" he said, making her abruptly stop and turn to face him.

"I'll tell you what's wrong, it's the fact that you started to act like him!" she said, widening her eyes at him, nodding when noticing his shocked expression. "Yeah, trying to look all macho and mighty just for me, you guys should REALLY cut the crap!" she said, walking off. Gaara opened his mouth to speak up but she, again, stopped him.

"I'm going home. I need some time alone!"

Gaara sighed as she watched her walk away. For once, he cursed his damned luck.

* * *

"You REALLY said that?!"

Sakura, who was standing with her arms crossed, asked Ino as the latter sat on the bed, hugged her legs and buried her head on her knees.

"Aha…" she said, sighing in frustration, "…I can't believe I said that!!" she exclaimed, lying back. Sakura laughed.

"Well, it's not your fault. You know pregnant women tend to act a bit aggressive, especially to the father of their child"

"Well, here's a piece of information: I'M A TEENAGER!" Ino said, sitting up. Sakura sighed and sat on the bed.

"Get that thought out of your thick head!" Sakura said, poking Ino's head while the latter pushed her away.

"Yeah, well, I think I should've let him at least explain himself" Ino said, looking at the phone which was on the bed. Sakura picked it up and handed it to the blonde.

"No harm would happen if you tried" she said, adding a smile on her face. Ino smiled and took the phone.

"Sure" Ino said, watching how her friend got up, gave her a thumb up with a flashy grin before going out the door. Ino narrowed her eyes.

"Did she just give me the _cool guy_ pose?" Ino asked herself, picturing Sakura in a green jumpsuit, adding the pose. She shuddered before dialing Gaara's house number.

"The number you have dialed is not available at the moment, please try later, thank you"

"What?!" Ino asked herself before trying again. The same message played over and over. The girl sighed frustratingly and lied on the bed, her hand resting on her stomach.

"We've got a long way to go, don't we?" she said, talking to her stomach, wondering if the fetus can actually hear her.

* * *

**A couple of days later…**

"No, I did not eat the last three pancakes"

Sakura told Ino as the latter was 'interrogating' the former about her beloved pancakes. Apparently, Ino has developed a passion for pancakes which was more of an obsession.

"Besides, you ate the last 27!!" Sakura continued, looking at Ino who had a blush across her cheeks. "Well, I was hungry!"

"It's called BREAKFAST! Besides, you ate like a cow last night, you shouldn't even BE hungry!" Sakura continued, getting off of the counter and towards the fridge. She opened it and reached for the orange juice carton, pouring herself some.

Ino turned the chair she sat on around to face her pink haired friend. "Well, I need some nutrition, don't I? Besides, your mother left for two months now, leaving you and I here all alone so you'd better get used to me being―"

_Knock, Knock_

"―knock, knock? Who knock, knocks early in the morning?!" Ino said as her friend walked towards the door, shrugging her shoulders. As soon as the door was opened, the shock was standing at their doorstep.

"Good morning"

Sakura gaped for a moment before smiling, "Good morning, Gaara-kun…" she said, taking a step aside and looking at her blonde friend who was silent for some reason. "…please, come in"

Gaara nodded and walked inside, keeping his eyes at Sakura. The latter knew he was here to talk to Ino, noticing that he was holding 'the bag' in his hand.

"Uh, I think Lee's calling me. See ya!" and with that, she ran out the door, closing it. Gaara looked at it with a smirk before turning his head around, noticing the blonde who was getting up of her counter chair.

He felt his heart skip a beat.

"Hey…" he started, walking slowly towards her. She gave him a small smile and walked towards him, both stopping a couple of inches away from each other. "Hey" she replied, looking at the ground.

She's been trying to contact him ever since the day of the fight, but his house phone was unavailable for some reason. Ino had no idea it was broken and wasn't replaced after the whole Gaara-Sasuke incident. She also didn't have the guts to show up as his place.

Gaara decided to break the silence, "I just came by to give you this…" he said, handing her the bag that had the baby outfit in it. "…I don't think I'll be using that!" he said, chuckling. Ino nodded and took the bag, looking up at him.

"Thanks" she said, smiling. Both remained silent for a moment before…

"Ino-chan"

"Gaara"

Both said it at the same time, making them chuckle. "You go first" he said, waiting for her to reply. She smiled and ushered for him to sit down.

Gaara complied and sat down while she sat opposed to him on the other couch. "Well, I just wanted to say that…" she said, sighing heavily, "…I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier"

He chuckled and shook his head, "I actually expected you to say that. It's alright, you don't need to apologize…" he said, smiling. "…If anyone, it's me who should be apologizing"

Ino narrowed her eyes as she watched him get up and walk towards her, ending up sitting next to her. "I shouldn't have accepted Sasuke's challenge…" he said, looking at the ground. "…I...I could've hurt you, if I didn't stop the sand…" he said, feeling the guilt take over him. "…I jeopardized both you and the child…" he continued, sighing heavily.

Gaara felt some kind of electricity when she moved her small hands to his big ones, holding them tightly.

"You didn't do it on purpose, that's for sure" she said, adding a small smile to her, as he always saw them, beautiful features.

_'That bastard's sure going to miss them…'_ he thought, smirking. Ino narrowed her eyes, wondering what the reason behind that smirk was.

"Ino-chan…" he started, looking at the ground. Ino blinked a couple of times, unconsciously moving her hand to her stomach. As Gaara opened his mouth to speak, a knock on the door interrupted.

Ino looked at the door before moving her eyes back at her boyfriend, "Excuse me" she said, getting up and walking towards the door. Gaara knew who was behind the door.

As soon as Ino opened the door, Kankurou and Temari barged it. "Heya, Blondie! Hey bro, where have you been?!" he said, walking in and towards his brother. Temari looked at Ino and smiled, "It's good to see you again, Ino." she said, walking along with her brother. Ino blinked a couple of times, spacing out for a second before closing the door.

Ino sighed and shook her head before turning around to see the two whispering something with Gaara, as if they were planning on something. To Ino, the expression on Gaara's face looked as if he wasn't really fond of what they were saying.

Ino walked towards them, noticing that they went silent when she got closer. Gaara looked up at her and smiled while she didn't reply.

"What's the matter?" Kankurou asked, looking at her. "Morning sicknesses?"

"WHAT?!"

Ino's eyes widened, _'Does he know? How did he know? Gaara…'_ she moved her eyes towards Gaara and narrowed them.

"Can I talk to you for a split second, please?" she said, pulling on his arm and away, not giving him a chance to reply. Kankurou and Temari exchanged looks before watching their brother disappear into the kitchen with his girlfriend.

Ino pulled Gaara before abruptly stopping and turning around to face him. "What the hell did just happen?" she asked, causing him to knot his eyebrows.

"What?!" he asked, causing her to frustratingly sigh. "How the hell did he know that I'm pregnant?"

"He doesn't know!"

Ino rolled her eyes, "Very funny, Gaara. He said 'morning sicknesses'. Those two words cannot be said unless it's being said to a pregnant woman…"

"You are!"

"But HE KNOWS!" she said, moving her hands towards the kitchen door, emphasizing the situation. Gaara sighed.

"So what if he knows?" Gaara nonchalantly said. Ino widened her eyes and shook her head. "This is UNBELIEVABLE!" she said, sighing frustratingly. Gaara sighed as well, deciding to come clean.

"Ino-chan…" he said, making her look up at him. She noticed something in his face that she'd never noticed, something that told her it was bad.

"What is it?"

Gaara looked at the ground, "I told them" he blurted, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. Ino sighed, "At least you could've told me that!"

"You made a tantrum over it!" he exclaimed, looking at her with widened eyes. Ino shook her head and took a step closer to him.

"Well, I've been very violent these days" she said, hugging him. She felt his arms hug her back lovingly, but she had that sting in her chest that something wasn't right. She felt something…different…

"That's not it…"

Ino looked up at him, his eyes dark and sad. He slowly opened his mouth to speak up, but nothing came out. She narrowed her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked, still holding him. He let her go and turned around, avoiding her looks.

"My father called and…"

Ino froze, she knew it. She had that feeling that his father would ask them to do something, probably leave Konoha and leave her alone. She waited for his words, but he was taking too long to say them.

"Dammit, Gaara, What is it?!"

His looked ahead, taking a deep breath and side heavily. "…he asked me to, get back to Suna with Temari and Kankurou…"

She looked at the ground, a part of her shocked of the event while the other was expecting it at some point. She started to have that feeling that their relationship probably was never meant to be. Everything stood in their way. First Sasuke did and now his father, the fourth Kazekage.

Ino knew Gaara would never choose her over his father; after all, being the son of the Kazekage has its consequences.

_'Should've taken that into consideration…'_ Ino thought, looking at Gaara's back as he explained his situation.

"…I've told him that I have obligations but he wouldn't listen…" he said, keeping his back to her. He knew that she was silent, probably waiting for him to speak.

"You've made up your mind, Gaara?" She said, holding back her tears. He slowly nodded, causing her to wince.

"I did, I made up my mind…"

Ino closed her eyes, looking at the ground, getting herself ready for the big hit.

"I'm going back to Sunagakure" he said, looking at the ground, hiding a great secret from Ino as he was smiling maliciously.

* * *

Somewhere in a dark basement, underneath the house of a certain clan, he was tied, trying to untie his knots as hard as he could. He struggled as his hands were tied behind his back, as well as his legs. He was seated against the wall. His attempts of untying the rope caused him to fall forward with a thump.

_'Bastard, I should've known…'_ he thought, his hair was covering his forehead as he was sweating uncontrollably. He was gagged, thus making things worse for him. He was in a small and closed area; the oxygen was beginning to become limited to him.

_'Damn you, Uchiha Sasuke' _

* * *

**Ah, TWIST! **

**What do ya think? Please R&R**


	11. Chapter XI

* * *

**Reviews:**

Kikyouhater118: LOL! _–counting how many I hate Sasuke has been said in the review-_ WOW, you must hate him that bad _–evil laugh-_ thank you for your review. Hate my Sasuke, not yours xD

Flare-of-fire: wow, _-blush-_ thank you. I'm very honored with your complement. Thank you very much. Glad you like the story and hope to see your reviews always.

Ukgirl1972: LOL. Sasuke has issues, YUP! I should change the title from 'That night' to 'His issues' _–laugh-_. He's an ass, yeah. I hate him. LOL! Thank you for your review and support.

sugarmonkey778: Shocking, isn't it? LOL. Thank you for your review.

Blackmisery: I DID! XD, Thank you for your review.

Darkide: now that's what I call a constructive review. Thanks for telling me about those grammar mistakes. Thanks for liking my twisted mind xD and thanks for your review, nice guy.

Ninetailwolfdemon: Yup, _-kills Sasuke-_ he's a jerk. Thx for your review

Cheese maiden: Thank you. I thought that it sucked since no one mentioned it, but thanks for your review.

Kirri Kitty: It's been a while since I last saw your review. Glad you liked it, stay tuned for more.

Liaish: Let's say that Ino might STILL have something for the bastard after all he's done. Evil twist, I know! _–Evil laugh-_. Oh, yes, LeeSaku is intended in this story, but let's say that things might not go the way it's planned. Thank you for the review.

Madame Nonchalant: YEAH! That's the spirit! LOL! Thank you for your review.

OtobekruD: Ah. That's a weird pairing, I mean the _InoAsuma_ thingy. Thx for your review.

Oktoberfest: Yup, he's an asshole alright xP. Thank you for your review.

CheapSh0t: He's sneaky alright. I hope so too xD. Thank you for your review.

Oh and I want to thank 'konoichi fanatic-jst some name' for her/his review on "Gomen, My cherry". She/he didn't review in a logged in penname so I decided to thank them here.

* * *

**I just remembered. In the first chapter, I wrote that Sakura is hated in this story. Well, sorry Anti-Sakura fans, I think I like her in this one xD **

**Ready for some twists? Here goes! **

**_Warning_**** might be some language in this one. Oh, and this story is soon going to be finished. I don't think I have more ideas to add. **

**_Note:_**** I know some things don't make sense. Such as some scenes that occurred in the anime when Gaara was a Kazekage, added in this story in which his father is still alive and Kaze-kicking. Get it? Gaara.is.not.kazekage.in.my.story. **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

_Previously: _

_"I'm going back to Sunagakure" he said, looking at the ground, hiding a great secret from Ino as he was smiling maliciously. _

* * *

_He was gagged, thus making things worse for him. He was in a small and closed area; the oxygen was beginning to become limited to him. _

_'Damn you, Uchiha Sasuke' _

* * *

That night, Chapter 11:

"W-What?!" She mumbled, eyes widening. Yes, she might've been expecting it, but Ino was secretly praying for him to say that he was staying. Gaara turned around slowly, keeping his eyes to the ground.

"You heard me, Ino-chan!"

"Stop calling me that!"

He paused, narrowing his eyes, "I'm sorry…" he said, taking one last look at her before turning back around and walking out the kitchen door, leaving her devastated.

"Gaara…" she mumbled, looking at the swinging kitchen door. She followed him, pushing the door on her way.

"Gaara!" she yelled, causing him to turn around. Temari and Kankurou were just getting up. They both exchanged looks, noticing that there was an obvious tension between the pair.

He looked at her, she was breathing shallowly as if trying to hold back her tears. Gaara never liked seeing her that way.

_'…but it's a good way to guarantee the success of my plan'_ he thought, keeping his face straight. He looked at the ground and sighed.

"Ino-chan, Please…"

Ino remained in her place, almost panting. She was hurt to the fact that he was leaving her alone after everything they've been through.

"You promised, Gaara…" She mumbled, resting her hand over her stomach. Gaara narrowed his eyes, _'So he promised, eh? Excellent'_

"You should've known that I never keep my promises, Ino-chan" he said, turning his head the other way. His words to Ino where fatal, they shocked her to the point where she wasn't able to register them.

"G-Gaara…" she mumbled, not being able to hold back the tears anymore. He grimaced, looking at the ground and closing his eyes.

"…You…you promised me…" she continued, still not aware of his words. "…You said you'll be here for the child"

Gaara shook his head and stormed off out of the house. Ino sobbed before crying, her knees felt so weak she almost collapsed to the ground if it wasn't for Kankurou to brace her.

"Ino!" he exclaimed, keeping her from falling down. Temari was in shock; his action totally contradicted his words:

_"Nothing's stopping you…" he said, looking at the ground. "…it's me who's not going"_

Temari looked at Ino who was crying her heart out in Kankurou's arms while he was exchanging looks with his sister. She moved her vision to the ground, _'There's no way Gaara would back out like this. He seemed so…serious back then'_

"Temari…" her brother's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, "…Go and see what the fuck is up his mind" he said, holding Ino in his arms while nodding reassuringly at his sister. Temari nodded and ran out the door and followed him.

* * *

"Gotta get out of here" he mumbled, walking in a fast pace away from his ex-girlfriend's, Sakura's, house. He heard a couple of footsteps behind him and a voice calling his name.

"Gaara!"

_'Shit'_ he thought, stopping abruptly when Temari came face to face with him. He sighed, "What is it, Temari?" he said, glaring at her. She gulped, blinking a couple of times.

"What the hell where you thinking back there?" she said, pointing at the house. Gaara sighed, looking at the ground before moving his vision back to his sister, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" he said, glaring at her. "…Let me guess, she told you to come over here"

"No, our brother told me to! Gaara, I thought you took full responsibility of your actions! Yes, Father told you to return back to Suna with us, but that doesn't mean you let that go" she exclaimed, waiting for him to reply.

Gaara smirked, _'So, their father really contacted them. I thought I made that up, what a nice coincidence'_

"I can't say no to father's orders now, can I? After all, he's _Kazekage-sama_" he said, shaking her head and walking past her but she managed to get in his way.

"You'll go back in there and fix everything else with―"

"―I have more important things to attend right now" he said, taking a step to the side, but she did as well, preventing him from going any further.

"If you don't get out of my way…" he said, taking a step closer, looking at her threateningly, "…I'm not gonna be held responsible for what I'm gonna do with you"

Temari's eyes widened at her brother's words, she froze in her place while he gazed at her for some time before walking off, leaving her surprised and shocked by her brother's words.

She felt it again, after all those years. That fear that she always felt around her youngest brother. The fear of being killed, that kept her up at night in fear he would sneak up to her and slit her throat in her sleep. She held her hand against her chest, looking at the ground.

_'Something's off…'_ she thought, turning around to see him, but he already disappeared. _'…way off'_

Temari looked around the area for any sign of her brother before running back to the house, back to her brother and Ino.

* * *

As his sister ran out of the door to check on their brother, Kankurou was trying his best to calm the blonde down.

"Ino, please, don't do this to yourself" he said as the girl sobbed in his chest. He looked up and sighed heavily. "He'll come to his senses, I'm sure he will"

It might be true that Kankurou scolded his brother for his irresponsible actions, but what he did just then was unforgivable. He couldn't just walk away from a responsibility Gaara was willing to take. He knew Gaara was probably the most responsible and serious person in history. It's true that he used to care only for himself, but after his fight with Uzumaki Naruto, his personality changed to the best it could.

He started having feelings for others. Kankurou remembered his brother's words while watching the sunset:

_"Up until now, my bonds with others have only been ones of hatred and murder. But, seeing him fight so hard made me wonder what a bond really is. I think I understand a little now. Suffering, sadness...and joy. To be able to share it with another person" _

Those words made him sure that his brother knew the meaning of life, knew how to have feelings of love and concern for others, made him sure that something big must've changed his mind.

"Kankurou…"

He looked up to see his sister at the doorway, shaking her head before looking at the ground. Kankurou gritted his teeth as he felt that the situation was hopeless. He moved his vision towards the girl whose cries slowly died down. He knew that she needed some rest, but he thought it would be impolite to take a girl to her bedroom unless he was invited.

"Temari…" he said, looking at his sister who shook her head quizzically, "…take her to her bedroom. Let her get some rest" he said, still having the girl in his arms. Temari nodded and kneeled next to Ino who was now sobbing lightly.

"Let's go, Ino" Temari said, helping the girl up on her feet. Kankurou got up as well; moving towards the couch as he watched his sister help the girl upstairs to her bedroom.

"…Gaara, you bastard!"

* * *

Gaara walked towards the very end of Konohagakure where the Uchiha clan used to reside before their wipe-out, ironically, by one of their own. He looked right and left, making sure no one saw him before forming a seal, cancelling his transformation and going back to his Uchiha Sasuke form before walking towards the clan's entrance.

He walked along the empty and haunting streets; glass still shattered, mops still broken, buckets still lying on the ground. The fact that nothing has changed made him grimace as he walked towards the main Uchiha residence where the founder of the Uchiha clan and his descendants lived.

He climbed up the twenty steps of stairs before reaching for the main wooden door. He slowly pushed it; its creaking sound sent chill down his own spine. He smirked, being very pleased by his work that morning.

* * *

Lee and Neji were arguing about youthful business, as usual. Ironically enough, the two were childishly talking while they were practicing.

Tenten had excused herself from hers and Neji's routine of practice, saying that she had some business to take care of. That only left Lee at the mercy of Neji's Jyuuken.

The latter sprinted towards his teammate and sent several hits to his tenketsu, Chakura points, while Lee dodged most of them. Lee jumped backwards before using his speed and get past Neji, sending him hits from several directions. Neji had no choice but to use…

"Hakkeshou Kaiten!" he exclaimed, spinning gracefully, forming a Chakura field around him to protect himself, sending Lee a couple of feet away.

Lee landed on the ground and smirked, "I wonder how Tenten puts up with you, Neji-kun. She's a very delicate flower in the spring of youth…" he said, getting up, mumbling under his breath, "…unlike you, a thorn in that beautiful spring"

"Will you get over it, Lee?" Neji said, shaking his head. Lee chuckled, taking his stance. "Neji-kun, you know there's a tiny bit of youth inside of you" he continued, bringing his index and thumb fingers together, indicating the _'tiny bit'_.

Neji smirked, activated his Byakugan and took his stance. "You'd better run, Lee" he said, making Lee gulp and run off.

"Hey!" Neji called him, but he was in the bushes already. He used his Byakugan and extended his line of vision, looking for his teammate. _'He must've run off real fast. There no sign of him any…wait, what's that…?'_ he thought, noticing something in the far-away distance, making him narrow his eyes.

"What's Gaara doing, walking into the Uchiha clan's part of the town?" he mumbled, watching as Gaara's figure disappeared in a puff of smoke, in his place stood Uchiha Sasuke, making Neji widen his eyes.

"Lee!" he called out, still focusing on the area ahead. Lee came out of the bushes, twigs and leafs stuck to his bowl-cut hair.

"What?!" he asked, noticing that his friend was focusing his attention somewhere while he was removing the _'accessories'_ off of his hair. Neji turned his head towards his friend while his eyes were still at the Uchiha as he walked across the streets of his clan's.

"Is there any reason for Gaara to transform into Sasuke?" he said, narrowing his eyes. Lee shook his head. "Nope, I don't think Gaara would do that. He hates his guts!" Lee said, crossing his arms.

"Unless it's…" Neji mumbled, looking at Lee whose eyes were widened.

"It's Sasuke, playing as Gaara!" Lee said, running off. Neji followed him, both knowing where their destination would be.

* * *

_'I can't believe this…'_

He was gasping for breath as he was losing his energy. His gourd was totally out of reach and there was no grain of sand in the room he was in. _'…the bastard planned it perfectly, God, how didn't I see it?!'_

_Flashback, a couple of days earlier:_

_He felt bad about the whole fight with Sasuke and almost injuring Ino and her child. He walked down the street, sighing heavily. He walked with his balled-into-fists hands and eyes glued to the ground. _

_"Gaara-kun…" _

_He paused and raised his vision to come face to face with the blonde girl he always admired. "I-Ino?" he said, receiving a smile from her. _

_"Yeah, I, um, wanted to apologize for storming off like that" she said, looking at and fiddling with her hands before looking up at him with a smile. He gave her a small smile and walked towards her. _

_"You don't have to, Ino" _

_"No, I-I have to…" she said, taking a step closer. "…in fact, I'll totally make it up to you" she said, smiling slyly at him. Gaara's eyes widened when she suddenly pulled him by the front of his shirt and pressed her lips against his, pressing herself up against him in the process. _

_Gaara almost gasped as he was caught off guard, but he eventually kissed back before slightly breaking the kiss, noticing it was too passionate to be in public. She chuckled and kissed him back. _

_"Ino, Ino…" he mumbled, stopping her. She pulled back, narrowed her eyes and smirked. "Gaara-kun, what's wrong?" she said, still holding on to him. He looked at the ground and chuckled. "This is too explicit―" _

_"―you should be thankful I'm doing this" she said, turning around and crossing her arms. Gaara blinked, staring blankly at her. "I didn't complain I just ―Wait! Where are you going?" Gaara found himself being pulled by the arm, being dragged somewhere. _

_"Somewhere private" she turned her head, grinning. Gaara's eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ino…" he said, stopping her from pulling him. _

_"What, Gaara-kun?" she asked, pouting. "I want our last couple of days together to be special…" she said, taking a couple of steps closer. "…ne, Gaara-kun?" she said, playing with the buttons of his trench coat. He gulped and for the first time in his life, he was nervous as she kept glaring at him till he broke down. _

_"Alright…" he mumbled, making her pull him towards their destination. _

_A couple of minutes later, they've reached where Ino was planning to take him. He narrowed his eyes, "Why are you bringing me to the Uchiha clan?" he said, looking at the small front gate of the clan's part of the village. Ino smirked, "A private place with no one around" _

_"But, we're about to get private in a massacred village!" he exclaimed, looking as far as the eye could see. _

_Ino chuckled, moving closer to him, cupping his cheeks. "Do you really think anyone cares?" she said, moving her index finger to his lips, sliding it lower to his chin before resting her hand on his chest, biting her bottom lip. _

_"Besides, this will probably be our only time together, since you'll probably leave. It's also going to be a payback to Sasuke, that bastard" She said, looking at the ground. Gaara sighed, "We can't, Ino" he said, looking at her, noticing she had her usual puppy-dog look in her eyes. _

_"I can't believe I'm doing this", he said, following her into the village. Ino abruptly came to a stop, turning around to face him, forcing him to look at her quizzically. _

_"What?!" he asked, receiving a grin from her. _

_"Leave your gourd out here" _

_He narrowed his eyes, 'Why is she asking me to leave my gourd out here?' he thought as the girl rested her hands behind her back, shifting her weight from one leg to another. _

_"So, are you staying here all day thinking about it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Gaara smiled, shaking his head while untying his sash. _

_"No…" he simply answered, releasing himself from his gourd and resting it near the entrance. Ino walked towards the gourd and picked up the sash, placing it around her neck. She grinned and walked up to him, gave him a peck on the lips before giggling. _

_"You won't regret this, trust me" _

_A couple of minutes later, they reached to what Gaara assumed that it was the main hall of the Uchiha clan. Ino, for some reason, told him not to leave any tracks, not even a grain of sand so that, in her own words 'Sasuke would never find out'. He was starting to feel a bit awkward but he listened to every word she said. _

_After they've gotten inside, Gaara was mesmerized by the grand room. The floor was made from high-class marble, reflecting the golden-colored walls with the flame-breathing, red-eyed black dragons. A grand shrine stood at the end of the hall, candles and incense were placed on it. He figured that Sasuke kept this room, kept the memory of his clan alive. _

_'…and I thought he was a jerk. Well, no matter how devoted and loyal he is to his clan, he's still a jerk to me' _

_Ino, noticing that Gaara was spacing out, turned to face him and smirked. _

_"Now, close your eyes" she said, with a grin. Gaara rolled his eyes before closing them, waiting for any reaction from the girl. He heard her footsteps walk up behind him and something covered up his eyes, he knew it was his sash but he didn't actually care. _

_Ino had a plan and she hoped he wouldn't ruin it. "Now, don't move" she said, her voice lower, colder and darker than usual. It happened so quickly when Gaara felt his hands being tied behind his back and pushed to the ground. Ino laughed as she tied his feet as well, immobilizing him. _

_"Ino, what's going on?" _

_She chuckled, "Gaara-kun…" she said, holding him by the hair. "Didn't your mother teach you not to trust strangers? Oh wait, your mama is dead. I think…you killed her" she said, giggling. Gaara gritted his teeth. _

_He winced as she pulled his hair. Gaara wanted to use his sand to push her away, but he didn't want to risk hurting her. Ino noticed his hands move, trying to free himself. _

_"No use, Gaara…" she said, pulling him by the hair. He had enough, deciding to use any sand around, but he winced when he lost the ability. _

_"Gaara…" she continued to pull him down, "…After the extraction of Shukaku, your sand-controlling abilities have perished. Not to mention that you lost most of your Chakura in that fight with Sasuke-kun…" she said, laughing, "…besides, I made sure this place was clean and sand-less" she continued, pulling him down a set of stairs, causing him to wince as he was pulled harder by the hair and his back was banging against the stairs. Gaara didn't know what was going on, he felt trapped. _

_"Why are you doing this, Ino?" he asked, receiving her usual chuckle. Gaara knew she reached her destination because he wasn't pulled down the stairs anymore. He felt himself being pushed against the wall; his blindfold was removed and lowered to his neck. _

_"Ino…" he mumbled, noticing that the girl's eyes were a bit different. They were red, dark and emotionless. _

_His eyes widened once he noticed that her hair was getting darker and shorter, turning into a raven-colored hair. Her features were changing, so was her body and clothes. In the end, Gaara narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth as the transformation was complete. _

_"Sasuke…" _

_Before him stood Sasuke, a hand on his hip and the other draped on his side with a smirk on his face. He kneeled, looking at Gaara in the eye. "I can't believe you're that easy to fool. It's true what they say, Love IS blind" he said, flicking the love tattoo on his forehead, causing him to flinch. _

_"If you do anything to her, I'm going to kill you" _

_Sasuke chuckled, looking at the ground. "I'm not doing anything to her; I'm doing something for her. If my plot goes as I planned, she'll be in my arms in no time. Besides, there's nothing you could do…" he said, looking at his body, "…you're immobilized. Too bad, you won't be there for Ino and her baby, while I'm going to be" he said, getting up and sighing. _

_"I can't believe I had to humiliate and degrade myself to do what I've done just now, but it'll be all worth it…" he said, looking patronizingly at Gaara who was giving him one of his killer looks. _

_"…I love her more than you do, Gaara, and I'm willing to do anything for her" Sasuke said, using the same sash that blindfolded him to gag him, making sure it was tightly tied. _

_"Now, you'll stay here while I take care of some loose ends" he said, walking off and towards the stairs. Gaara glared and started cussing him, but the gag was preventing Sasuke from hearing his words clearly. _

_"Be quiet, Gaara-kun. Save your energy…" he said, standing at the top of the stairs, "…you'll need it, trust me" he said, slamming the door shut, leaving Gaara in the dark and small room, trying to untie himself. _

_End flashback (which was a very long one) _

The creaking sound of the main door signaled the arrival of the last descendant of the Uchiha clan. Gaara was trying his best to untie himself, but he figured Sasuke performed some kind of technique on them. He was trying every single rope-untying technique in the book, none of them were working.

Gaara shook his head, trying to remove the gag. A couple of seconds later, he managed to remove it.

"SASUKE!!" He screamed, looking at the top of the stairs. The room was so quiet he could hear his steps. The door was slowly opened, illuminating the area. Gaara narrowed his eyes at the sudden brightness which was blocked once a figure stood in the way, showing only a silhouette

"Well, Gaara-kun. It's been a while; I can't believe you're still alive. With no food, no drinks, no…love" he said, walking down the stairs, their eyes never losing the contact. Gaara gritted his teeth, panting.

"I swear, if you hurt her…"

"I didn't hurt her…" Sasuke said, shaking his head. "…It's you who did"

Gaara widened his eyes, "W-What?!" he mumbled, receiving a chuckle from the Uchiha. "That's right. To Ino, You're the one who told her that you're leaving back to Suna, who told her that he doesn't always keep his promises, who threatened to kill his own sister…It was you, Sabaku no Gaara"

His eyes were widened to their limit; he could almost imagine how she would feel if she heard those words from him. He wasn't even planning on leaving, and now…

"I won't leave her. I'll kill you and get back to her. You have nothing to do"

"Simple, I'll tell them I have some business to take care of. Then, I'll tell them that you died, then I would leave you here till you rot" Sasuke said, shrugging.

"Bastard…" Gaara said, narrowing his eyes at Sasuke who was chuckling. "What? You're gonna kill me with your death glare?" he sarcastically said, kneeling down. "She's losing it already. You should've seen the look in her eyes when YOU told her that you were leaving. Her cries reached all the way to the Wind Country"

Gaara winced, trying to untie himself, gritting his teeth as Sasuke went on. "…it sure hurt me to see her crying like that. I wanted to hold her in my arms but, it was YOU, after all. I wanted to show her what an asshole you are…"

He glared at his smirking face before closing his eyes. '_How could he do that?'_ he thought, her crying figure popping in his head, making him grimace. _'Ino, it's not me. I would never do that to you, ever'_

"…but it sure was pleasant to see your image in her view being crushed and leveled with the ground. She'll probably carry that hatred with her to the grave. Hatred for you, and probably for your child…"

Gaara stopped breathing, holding back everything. _'She would never do anything to the child, would she?'_ he thought, squeezing his eyes, _'She ran out of her own home to prevent her mother from forcing her into abortion. She has no one, no one but me'_

The room was dead silent as he suddenly opened his eyes, glaring at him.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, _'His eyes changed'_ he thought, noticing that Gaara was furious. The whiteness of his eyes turned black while his sea-foam green eyes turned to yellow with a black shuriken-like pupil and four black dots surrounding it.

He breathed shallowly, "I warned you about hurting her" Gaara threatened, shaking furiously. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, noticing that grains of sand started to form in front of the sand Shinobi.

"What the…?" Sasuke questioned, getting up and taking a couple of steps back. Gaara kept glaring at him while more sand formed.

Sasuke got up, taking another step backwards. Gaara's sand armor started to crack and fall off his face. Sasuke knew that Gaara was going to use the sand to finish him off. Knowing that he was in danger, he ran off, up the stairs. Gaara kept looking at him, his sand slowly making its way towards the Uchiha.

Sasuke reached for the top of the stairs and slammed the door shut, locking it. His eyes were widened and he was frightened. He made sure this place was empty and had nothing that contained a bit of sand, not even glass.

"This is bad…" He mumbled, moving away from the door. He looked at the bottom of the door, noticing that sand was coming out of it.

"…really bad"

* * *

Neji and Lee ran across the streets of Konoha as fast as they could, running past people, maneuvering between objects, in Lee's case, jumping over them.

"Sasuke was plotting something against Gaara from the beginning. Are you sure of what you've seen?" Lee asked, gulping and looking worriedly at Neji whose Byakugan was activated.

"Ah, I'm pretty sure of what I've…" he said, pausing and narrowing his eyes. "…Something's going on in there." He continued as he saw Sasuke, running up a sort of stairs before closing the door behind him, leaning against it.

Lee knotted his eyebrows, wishing he was able to see what his teammate was seeing. As he was running, he spotted a certain pink-haired Kunoichi.

"Sakura-san!" he yelled while still running. She paused, looking as the two rushed past her. She knotted her eyebrows, blinking.

"What's up with them?" she mumbled, noticing that they were taking a detour to a certain place. Sakura knew there was only one place to go to if you're taking that road.

"Not again" she mumbled, running after them. A couple of seconds later, she managed to catch up to them.

"Lee-san, Neji-kun…" she said, running behind them. "…Doushite? Why are you guys on a hurry?"

"We don't know yet. But I've got a bad feeling about this" Neji said, skipping his steps and going faster. Lee looked at Sakura and nodded before they both increased their paces, following their Hyuuga friend.

* * *

Kankurou and Temari were both sitting in Sakura's living room, still shocked of their brother's behavior. Temari managed to convince Ino to rest for a while, before she walked downstairs and talked to her brother.

"I still can't believe he did that to her. I mean, the way he told us that he was staying here and nothing was stopping you and I from going back to Suna…it just…doesn't make sense" She said, leaning backwards in the couch, moving on leg over the other. Kankurou looked at her and nodded.

"You're right. Something's fishy…" he said, taking off his cat-like hat and resting it on the table in front of him.

"Where did he go? Do you think he went home?" he asked, moving forward and resting his elbows on his knees, fidgeting his thumbs together.

Temari shook her head, "No, I don't think so. If he would do something like what he's done, he would probably be strolling around"

KNOCK, KNOCK 

"That's him" Kankurou exclaimed, getting up. Temari got up and walked towards the door, jerking it open. To their surprise, it wasn't their brother.

"Oh, wrong house" the blonde, long-haired man said, turning around and walking off. Temari knew who that was.

"Inoichi-san!" she exclaimed, making him turn around. "This IS Sakura's house, C'mon in" Temari said, taking a step inside the house. Inoichi smiled and walked in.

"Hello, you must be Gaara's siblings, right?" he said, receiving a nod from the two. "Yes, we are" Kankurou replied, standing with his arms by his side. Inoichi nodded, "I see. Is he around?"

Temari shook her head, "No, he left a couple of minutes ago" she said, gulping. Inoichi narrowed his eyes but ignored.

"Where's Ino? I have to tell her something important!" he exclaimed, looking around the room for his _'baby girl'_. Kankurou and Temari looked at each other with hidden words in their eyes.

"Um, she's resting. She felt tired and she wanted to sleep." Kankurou said, gulping. Temari scooped closer and nudged him.

"Why did you lie?" she whispered, receiving a glare from him. "I didn't lie. I just… converted the truth" he whispered back, gulping when he noticed the quizzical looked Inoichi was giving.

"Well, that's too bad…" he said, rubbing the back of his head, "…I'm going on an S-ranked mission. I was hoping I could tell Ino goodbye" he said, nodding. Temari and Kankurou had no idea he knew that Ino was pregnant. So they decided to skip that fact.

"We will tell her, Yamanaka-san" Temari politely said, smiling. Inoichi nodded and turned around, walking towards the door.

"That was close, I thought he'd ask to see her" Kankurou said, heaving a sigh.

"Can I at least see her?"

"…Damn it"

* * *

A couple of minutes later, Inoichi was kissing the top of his sleeping daughter's head. "Sleep tight, princess" he said, making sure she was covered so she wouldn't catch a cold.

He turned around and walked out the door, taking one last glance at his daughter before closing the door, meeting up with Temari in the hallway.

"Temari, I need to ask you…" he asked, making Temari narrow her eyes.

"Yes, Inoichi-san" she replied, waiting for his response. He sighed and looked at her, "I happen to know a great secret about Ino and Gaara"

Temari flinched, _'Does he know? Damn, how could he?'_ she thought, trying to cool herself. He looked at the ground then continued.

"If you also know about it, I want you to take care of her while I'm gone" he said, looking at her with worried eyes. Temari opened her mouth, wanting to tell him that they might leave in a matter of days, but she decided it was best for all of them not to tell him.

She smiled, nodding, "Don't worry. Inoichi-san, Kankurou, Sakura, Gaara and I will take good care of her" she said, smiling big. Inoichi chuckled and nodded.

"I appreciate it. Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm a bit late" he said, walking past her. Temari walked behind him as he made his way down the stairs and into the living room where Kankurou was waiting. The latter got up, putting a small smile on his face.

Inoichi smiled and walked towards the door, "I'll be coming back in a few days" he said, smiling, nodding at the two. "I'll see you soon" he said, walking out the door.

Kankurou heaved a heavy sigh and threw himself on the couch; "Man…" he started, shaking his head,

"…that was tiring. All the time I'm trying to hide the fact but there was a little evil voice in my head, telling me _'tell him, Kankurou, telling that his little daughter slept with your little brother and they're gonna have a little baby'_. It totally sucked" Kankurou said before he received a smack on the side of his head by his sister.

"OUCH! Why the aggression?!" he pleaded, noticing that she was glaring at him, arms crossed and foot tapping.

"He knows, and stopping being girly" she said, sitting on the couch next to him. Kankurou gave her a glare before adjusting his position, sitting straight and sighing heavily.

"Wait, a minute, did you say he knows?"

* * *

Sasuke took deep breaths as the sand made its way from the basement, through every single hole in the wall. He took his stance, ready for any surprise attack from the sand shinobi.

"Damn it…" he mumbled, noticing that the door was about to burst. "…I ticked him off big time, didn't I?" he said, grinning mischievously.

As he predicted, the door came off of its hinges, shooting at his direction. Sasuke moved backwards before jumping, placing his legs on the wall and giving himself the thrust to jump over the door before it slammed against it, crashing into millions of pieces.

Sasuke landed on the ground, keeping his eyes at Gaara. He noticed that Gaara had no scratch on him. The sweat he had on his face was evaporating. His eyes seemed cold and full of hatred. Gaara had his arms crossed while sand was floating next to him surrounding him in a very thin layer of sand.

"How could you be…?" Sasuke murmured before charging at Gaara who stood in place. Sasuke started sending punches, kicks, jumping backwards and throwing Kunais at him from different directions, but he knew those wouldn't work.

_'I have to try another approach'_ he said, activating his three-black-tomoe carved Sharingan eyes. He smirked and held his right hand, activating his Raikiri and ran parallel to the wall before quickly flash-stepping and walking on it, running as fast as he could around Gaara who kept his eyes on him all the time.

Sasuke kept running till he reached behind Gaara who was facing the other way. He gave himself a great push, screamed and slammed down at the sand shinobi.

* * *

A loud crash was heard, making Neji, Lee and Sakura halt, looking at the Uchiha's main house.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked, looking at Neji who intertwined his fingers, except his right index finger which was upwards, held them in front of his face and closed his eyes.

"Byakugan!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes; pupils appeared and eyes-surrounding veins bulging, all indicate the activation of his special ability. Lee and Sakura patiently waited as their friend's vision made its way through the walls, causing him to narrow his eyes.

"What do you see, Neji-kun?" Lee exclaimed, narrowing his eyes and looking at Neji whose expression was blank.

"This is…" he mumbled, widening his eyes. Lee looked at Sakura before looking back at Neji who was intensely watching the on-going battle.

"Neji-kun, what do you see?!"

* * *

**THE END! **

**OWARI DA!**** Go home, the story is finished. **

**LoL, just kidding. **

**Lame cliffy! What happened to Gaara? What did Neji see and why the chapter is too long? I wanna get this story done and hopefully, I think it will end soon. I usually end all of my stories with a fight scene!! LOL. Hopefully, this won't. **

**Please review. **


	12. Chapter XII

* * *

**Reviews:**

blackmisery: I don't know if what you just said was a good thing or a bad thing xP. Thx for your review.

Kikyouhater118: LoL, _-senses the hatred all around-_ I will try to kill him ASAP xD. You should change your name from 'Kikyou' to 'Sasuke', it would prove it xP. Thx for your comment

Liaish: Lol. Sasuke is going way down this time. Lee and Neji rock all the way, had to put them in the story because they're two of my fave. Thx for your comment.

Cheese maiden: Sasuke is a bastard. I also had to get Neji and Lee in the story cuz they rock! Inoichi IS a cool dad! After all, he's a member of the Ino-shika-chou!! Thanks for your review.

Joey's-mine: I didn't know if that was long enough or not at that time. I'm glad you liked it, hence the YAY thingy xP. Please continue reading. Thanks for your review.

Kichijutsu no Pare-do: I actually LOVE Toshiro and that scene was the coolest scene in the whole series. Perhaps his attitude kinda got stuck in my head without me knowing it. Thx for your review, glad you liked the story.

Gaara'sbutterfly: SHANNAROOO!! Hell yeah, He needs to be K.I.A.! Thx for you review. Glad you liked it.

* * *

**Reviewed**** for 'Please Remember' and had no address to reply to, I hope they read this: **

chibi-itachiissooocuute: I agree that Gaara is very OOC in this story, probably everyone is. But at the end, it gets less OOC; please continue reading and thank you very much.

A dude: I'm glad you liked it. Visit my profile. There's a part in the "UPDATE" section that is about "P.R.". Thank you for your review.

* * *

**I'd like to thank you guys for giving me support all the way. I'd like to thank Liaish for her complementing words. I'm so glad that I managed to make Gaara and Ino a loveable couple and let's all hope they get together in the anime as well **

**Ooh… and I realized something. In the first Gaara-Sasuke fight in this story, Sasuke's attack was named "Raikiri". Then I realized that THAT was Kakashi-sensei's attack while Sasuke's is called "Chidori". But then again, Raikiri is a developed Chidori so it doesn't matter. Let's say Sasuke managed to improve himself. **

**Anyways, Enjoy this one… **

* * *

_Previously: _

_Sasuke kept running till he reached behind Gaara who was facing the other way. He gave himself a great push, screamed and slammed down at the sand shinobi. _

* * *

_"What do you see, Neji-kun?" Lee exclaimed, narrowing his eyes and looking at Neji whose expression was blank. _

_"This is…" he mumbled, widening his eyes. Lee looked at Sakura before looking back at Neji who was intensely watching the on-going battle. _

_"Neji-kun, what do you see?!"_

* * *

**That night, chapter 12:**

"Neji…" Lee continued, walking closer to his friend. "…are they inside?" Lee asked, receiving a nod from the Hyuuga.

"Yes, and it looks like…" he said, narrowing his eyes, "…Sasuke's winning…"

* * *

The sand dust cleared out as Sasuke panted, standing in front of his arch enemy who was face down in the ground.

"How do you like that, _Shukaku_?!" Sasuke yelled, chuckling. Gaara slammed his hand to the ground and pushed himself up, struggling.

_'Ino…' _he thought, closing his eyes and resting his forehead on the ground. He inhaled sharply, feeling a sudden pain in the back and abdomen. He looked at the ground, noticing that there were drips of blood beneath him.

"Impossible…" he mumbled, before blood shot out of his mouth. Gaara pushed himself up, panting heavily. The room was quiet, so quiet that only their breaths were heard. Breaking the silence, a couple of footsteps were heard, making Gaara unleash his sand and order it to charge at the door, sealing it shut.

* * *

Lee, Sakura and Neji ran as fast as they could towards the entrance, the latter being in the lead. Lee, being the fastest, decided to burst through the main door. He pushed it with full force, but slammed against it, causing him to fall backwards.

"Lee-san!" Sakura said, kneeling next to him. He groaned as his face turned notably red from the contact with the door. "I'm alright" he said, looking up at the door. Neji formed his seal and activated his Kekkei Genkai.

"Gaara's holding the door with his sand. They don't want anyone to interrupt the fight" he said, narrowing his eyes as he watched the fight. Sakura got up and looked at Neji.

"We can't leave them be, they'll kill each other!"

"That's the point…" Lee said, getting up. Sakura turned to face him with a fearsome expression on her face. "…you saw the earlier fight, Sakura-san. They hate each other…" he said, looking at the closed door.

"..It's a fight till the very end."

* * *

Sasuke smirked at Gaara's actions as the latter held his palm open towards the door while his sand covered it in a thin, yet strong layer.

"You're not trying to waste your energy on that, are ya? Because if so, the fight will end very soon, and I'm deciding to have a little fun" Sasuke said, running towards Gaara who looked up and used his arms to protect himself.

Sasuke sent his first punch towards Gaara who managed to block it, but Sasuke was too fast as he sent a roundhouse kick towards his left side, causing the sand shinobi to wince and lower his defense, giving Sasuke the opening he needed.

The Uchiha started sending his punches and kicks towards the defenseless Sabaku no Gaara who was known by his _'Zettai Bogyo' 'Ultimate Defense'_ while the latter was doing his best to prevent being hit. Being without his sand armor, Gaara knew he wasn't gonna ba able to take all the hits.

_'I can't lose here. I won't!_' Gaara thought, maneuvering from one of Sasuke's punch and giving the latter a huge one in the gut, sending him flying a couple of feet backwards.

Gaara winced, holding his bleeding abdomen and panting heavily while looking at Sasuke who swiftly jumped back up onto his feet, unaffected.

"Is that all you got, _Sabaku no Gaara_?" he said, stressing on the title. He reached for a couple of Kunai knives from his side-patch and threw them in Gaara's direction. The latter got his Shurikens out and threw them at Sasuke's, blocking them.

Both stood, panting and silent, looking at each other right in the eye. The sound of the kunai knives and the Shurikens penetrating the ground was heard. Sasuke smirked, tossing his head to the side,

"Face the truth, Gaara. Look at you…" he said, causing Gaara to lower his head, moving his vision towards the big gash on his body. "…you're injured, I'm not. Plain logic, don't you think?" Sasuke said, resting a hand on his hip.

Gaara pressed on his wound, trying to stop the blood. Sasuke noticed he was getting notably paler by the second, making him smirk victoriously.

"Why are you fighting me, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eye twitched at his question, narrowing his eyes. "You're not trying to persuade me out of this fight, are you? Man… and you're supposed to be Sabaku no Gaara, the great fourth Kazekage's son, the ruler of one of the five great villages..." he mocked, receiving a death glare from Gaara.

"…to answer your question…" Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes back at him. "…I'm fighting you to have Ino-chan"

"Why do you want her?"

"Because I love her!"

Gaara winced at the pain in his stomach, but decided to ignore it. "Why don't you let her choose? Doesn't she have the right to do that?" Gaara said in between his clinched teeth. Sasuke shrugged, "She's only being with you because she wants you to take care of the baby. Otherwise, she always followed me, loved me, worshipped me, and wanted to bear my―"

"―Bullshit!" Gaara interrupted, spitting blood in the process. He looked at the ground, trying to hide the pain but failing. He held his sides and groaned a bit loudly, causing Sasuke to murmur something under his breath before chuckling.

"What? The era of the Sandman is already falling down?" Sasuke mocked, throwing his hands to the side as Gaara fell to his knees, panting.

_'I can't lose here…I just can't'_ he thought, closing his eyes. The pounding on the door forced to him to open his eyes as both of the guys moved their vision towards the door.

* * *

Lee was trying to break through the door, but the sand was sealing the door very tightly that the door itself cannot be broken.

"Damn it!" Sakura exclaimed, banging her fist against the door, "We can't let them do this!" she said, turning to Neji who was activating his Byakugan.

"They can hear us, they stopped"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Of course they do! That's why they sealed the freakin' door!" She said, pointing at the door. Neji narrowed his eyes, noticing the smirk on Sasuke's face through the door.

* * *

"Your friends are here. Since your condition is…well, shitty, how about letting them in?" Sasuke said, smirking. Gaara looked up at him with his Shukaku eyes, making The Uchiha pause for a moment.

_'Now, how in the hell did those eyes get back again? I remember them from the Chuunin exam and from a couple of minutes ago, but I thought Shukaku was removed. Was I mistaken?'_

Sasuke smirked, hiding his worry, and took a step backwards, noticing that the sand shinobi in front of him was furious as he lowered his head and pushed himself up.

"This is a fight…" Gaara said, resting his hand on the ground, raising himself a bit and sat on one knee, keeping his head down.

Sasuke smirked, _'So he has the energy to fight?' _he thought, looking at Gaara who was kneeling, blood oozing out of his abdomen. He suddenly lifted his head, eyes widened. Sasuke was startled, feeling the anger almost radiate from his eyes.

"…is between you and me!" Gaara exclaimed, reaching out for a Kunai from his side patch and throwing it at Sasuke who managed to block it, almost diverting his attention from Gaara. Once he looked where the latter was, he was no where in sight.

_'Kuso…'_ Sasuke mentally cursed, turning around to find himself face to face with Gaara who gave him a punch square in the face with his left hand, causing him to stumble a couple of feet backwards before quickly regaining his composure.

What Sasuke didn't know is that Gaara was pretty good at Taijutsu. Still, the former had the Sharingan, making him earn the upper hand.

Gaara used his right hand, which was now holding another kunai knife, to attack Sasuke, but the latter already read his moves and used his own Kunai to stop the attack.

"Don't forget that with an injury like yours…" Sasuke said, holding back Gaara's kunai, "…victory is decided" he said, pushing him backwards, causing both to slide a couple of steps back.

Blood was everywhere, Gaara's blood. It looked like he wasn't affected by the injury he took. Sasuke charged at him, screaming and attacking with full force. Gaara managed to dodge some attacks and block some.

_'If this fight takes longer than this, I'll be dead. This has to end now!'_ he thought, holding his hands in front of him, blocking Sasuke's punches and kicks. The latter smirked, giving Gaara a kick that sent him a tumbling couple of feet away. Sasuke did a quick flash-step towards the Shrine, looking at Gaara who was trying his best to stay on his feet.

"Why aren't you using your sand anymore…?" Sasuke asked, walking backwards, closer to what was resting next to the shrine. Gaara looked up, narrowing his eyes at him as he reached for the long object.

"…I see that it's still holding them back" he continued, referring to the sand against the door. Gaara held his abdomen tighter as he felt the world turn around him.

_'Damn it, I lost too much blood'_ he said, shaking his head. He wasn't going to let himself collapse, at least not till the battle is over. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

A familiar ethereal screech made him pause, breath caught in his lungs. He slowly opened his eyes and moved his vision towards the shrine where Sasuke stood with a smirk on his face.

_'Where did this come from?'_ he wondered, looking at what was in Sasuke's hands. In his right hand was a sheath. In his left was a long steel sword, possibly an antique _Jian_. Gaara could recognize as _Kusanagi_, which was known as Uchiha Sasuke's favorite type of swords.

"Now…" Sasuke said, twirling the sword professionally in his hand, "…this will end here. I told you to stay out of the way, but you made the choice"

Gaara's eyes widened as the sword started giving a familiar glow, almost an electrical one, reminded him of a certain attack. Sasuke laughed at the look in Gaara's eyes.

_'Fear...'_ he thought, smirking as he merged the power of his Raikiri with the sword, the sword giving a blue electrical glow that illuminated the whole room.

"Shinu!" Sasuke yelled, charging at Gaara who froze in his place. Everything was in slow motion. He knew that he had to do something, he had to dodge it. He had to survive. He couldn't leave her behind; he couldn't leave her with their child alone…

…not with Sasuke in the world...

"Ino…" he mumbled, narrowing his eyes. At that moment, every single memory came back to him, every single word they exchanged, every single tear she shed, every embrace he gave to her.

_'…I promised…'_ he thought, closing his eyes. Sasuke's words rung in his head:

_"She's losing it already…" _

Gaara gritted his teeth, his body shaking with anger as he balled his hands into fists…

_"…You should've seen the look in her eyes when YOU told her that you were leaving..."_

He could almost feel the anger that she would carry in her heart, burdening her forever, haunting her for as long as she lived. He knew he had to make things right, he knew he couldn't die at that moment…

_"…Her cries reached all the way to the Wind Country"_

His nails dug into his own skin, making it bleed as his knuckles turned white. He could feel him, getting closer by the second.

_'It's now or never'_ he thought, concentrating as hard as he could, so hard he could only hear his heart beats, and Sasuke's increasing ones. The Uchiha was clearly nervous, he was scared, more scared than Gaara was.

He suddenly opened his eyes. The sand on the door was released and crawled as fast as it could towards its owner.

"OWARI DA!" Sasuke yelled, thrusting his sword towards Gaara…

…he, for some reason, remembered her voice:

_"Yamanaka Ino, that's my name" those were her first words to him as he woke in Konoha hospital after managing to retrieve his student, Matsuri. Gaara nodded slowly, "Yamanaka Ino…" he repeated, noticing the smile on her face. "Don't speak or exhaust yourself. I'm going to take care of you from now on"_

He smiled, happy that she was the last person in his thoughts…

He never flinched, even though he felt the sword impale him right to the core, the electrical shock going up and down his spine and throughout his body.

Sasuke halted, eyes widened. "N-No way…" he mumbled, looking at Gaara's standing figure. Blood was dropping to the ground beneath them. Sasuke flinched, as he felt something in his chest…

"…I-Itai…" Sasuke mumbled, wincing, as blood trickled on the side of his mouth. He looked at Gaara who stood as calm as ever, his eyes closed.

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't, instead, he started coughing uncontrollably. He closed his eyes, feeling a pain in his chest. Gaara smiled and slowly opened his eyes.

"You're right, Uchiha… Sasuke…"

The door burst open, revealing Sakura, Lee and Neji who were trying their best to get inside. Once they saw the scene, their eyes widened.

"…Owari da" Gaara mumbled, coughing out blood as well. Sasuke kept his eyes to the ground before his grip on his Kusanagi loosened and his arm falling to his side.

Gaara winced as the pain increased. The world around him blurred and then darkness took over, making him lose his control over his sand which was impaling Sasuke.

Neji and Lee ran towards Gaara and held him before he hit the ground. Sakura stayed put, eyes widened and tearful as her ex-boyfriend fell to his knee before falling face down to the ground.

"Sakura! We need your help here, we're losing him!" Neji yelled, holding the unconscious Gaara in his arms while Lee was trying to assist Sasuke. Sakura ran towards them, but Neji noticed that she passed him and ran towards Sasuke instead.

"Sasuke-kun!" She yelled, kneeling to his side and holding him in her arms, shaking him.

"Sasuke-kun, wake up, please…" she said, shaking him violently. Neji and Lee exchanged a look before looking back at her.

"Sakura, we need your―"

"―Shut up, Neji!" she yelled, tears strolling down her cheeks as she moved her eyes back to the Uchiha.

"C'mon Sasuke-kun, you can't die, please…" she said, shaking her head. After all he's said and done to her, she loved him still. She probably hated him, but she never wished to see him dead.

She rested her index and middle finger on his pulse point on his neck before pausing, her breath caught in her throat.

_'No pulse…'_

Neji, noticing the look on Sakura's face, activated his Byakugan and looked at Sasuke's body. He widened his eyes before looking at Lee who waited for one of them to say something.

"He's…" Neji started, looking back at the limb body Sakura was holding on, "…he's dead"

* * *

Ino slowly opened her eyes back in reality before shutting them; the bright light from the window was unbearable. Her eyes felt puffy and her head was spinning. She was wondering why, and then it hit her:

_"You should've known that I never keep my promises, Ino-chan"_

She winced before sobbing lightly, turning around and burying her head in the pillow, screaming her heart out. Though her tears and cries were muffled, her bedroom door suddenly opened, revealing Temari. Ino looked up at her, noticing the look in her eyes.

"Kankurou, she's awake" she turned her head to the side, telling Kankurou to come over. The latter's head popped from the side, a smile on his face.

"Hey, Ino" he said, as they both walked towards her. Ino knew Kankurou was trying to cheer her up, but she wasn't feeling well, not after Gaara tore out her heart and stepped on it.

She got up and wiped the tears away, "Hey guys…" she mumbled, holding back the sobs. Temari sat down on the bed, resting her hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Your father came by while you were asleep…" Kankurou said as he leaned against the wardrobe, arms crossed. Ino looked up at him with narrowed eyes, "…he said he's going on a mission, and from the look on your face, I don't think he woke you up when he got up here"

Ino's bottom lip quivered as she hugged herself, looking at her bed with tears welling up in her eyes.

Temari and Kankurou looked at each other before looking back at her, as she mumbled something.

"What? I couldn't make that out" Kankurou said, kneeling next to the bed. Ino sobbed and leaned forward, letting the tears fall on her light blue sheet, forming a dark spot.

"He left me…just like Gaara did"

Kankurou and Temari had the same reaction; both looked at the ground, regretting what their brother did. Temari looked up at Ino and smiled.

"Your father didn't leave you, In fact…" she said, gulping, "…he told me to take care of you while he's away. He seemed sorry to leave you at such time" she continued, reassuringly squeezing her shoulder.

"He'll be back once he'll finish that mission, don't worry" Kankurou said, smiling at her. Ino looked up at both of them, eyes red and cheeks puffed, and nodded. "I know, I know" she said, sniffing. Both Temari and Kankurou looked at each other then moved the eyes towards Ino who was getting out of the bed.

"I-Ino…" Temari mumbled, looking at the blonde who had a smile on her face. "It's alright, Temari, I just…" she said, looking at the ground, "…I have to talk to someone"

* * *

Lee's eyes widened as he looked back at Sakura who was staring at Sasuke's limb body, tears slowly formed in her eyes.

"Sakura…san…" Lee mumbled, slowly moving towards her as she kept her eyes glued at Sasuke in her arms. Neji kept holding on to Gaara who was unconscious yet breathing sharply.

_'The Chakura flow is fading, we're losing him…'_ Neji thought as he deactivated his Byakugan and moved his eyes to Sakura.

"Sakura, I know it's hard for your but if you don't do something, we're losing Gaara as well…" he said, noticing that the pink-haired Kunoichi was blankly looking at Sasuke before looking at Gaara's bloody body.

"G-Gaara…" she mumbled as Lee held her shoulders, trying to support her. Neji nodded, looking at the badly injured red-haired as he began shivering.

"Damn it, Hurry up, Sakura!" Neji yelled, looking at Sakura who jerked her head up, looking at Neji's eyes with her tearful ones.

"I-I can't…" she mumbled, shaking her head, still holding Sasuke in her arms. Lee narrowed his eyes and held her shoulders tighter.

"Sakura-san, this is your job as a medic-nin, you can't let him die!" Lee said, receiving a hollow look from the girl, her eyes were sad and empty to him. He blinked a couple of times before looking back at Neji.

"There's no time, we have to take him to the hospital"

"With injuries like his, he's not even making it to the hospital!" Neji spat back, losing his patience as Gaara began shaking violently. Neji used his left hand to press on the wound while the right stayed beneath Gaara's neck.

Sakura looked as the two tried their best to keep Gaara alive, while she kept her arms around Sasuke. She looked down at him, his face no longer smirking, and his eyes no longer angry, he was gone. Sakura grimaced,

_'Gone…'_ she thought, caressing his pale cheek. Ironically, he was always pale; he was always like that; silent, calm and distant.

"We're losing him…!"

She heard, making her lift her head towards the two and narrowed her eyes at the scene. It all seemed surreal as Lee was practically yelling at her while Neji's white robes were covered in blood, so were his hands.

"Sakura! We need you here, damn it, put your emotions aside for a moment"

She paused, registering Lee's words. _'I am a medic-nin, my job is to assist the injured shinobi on a mission, and I vowed to do so. I can't stay behind… I can't leave them behind…'_

Neji was trying his best to keep Gaara from bleeding while checking his Chakura flow, _'Damn it, it's gradually fading…'_ he thought, keeping his eyes at the body in front of him. He was startled when he noticed Sakura sit opposed to him and lift her hands over the wounds.

"I'll take care of it, Neji" she said as the familiar green aura appeared around her hands. He nodded and backed off, looking at Sakura as she concentrated hard on her job. He moved his vision towards Sasuke's body, making him narrow his eyes.

"Lee…" he started, causing Lee to divert his vision towards the Hyuuga prodigy. "…this is major, go get Tsunade-sama, NOW!" he said, narrowing his eyes at Lee who nodded and ran as fast as he could out of the building.

Neji kept his eyes on Lee before moving them back to Gaara, narrowing them in hopes that Sakura saves him.

"Damn it…" Sakura cursed, looking up at Neji who shook his head quizzically. "…There's nothing I can do. I'm only delaying the inevitable"

* * *

He rushed as fast as he could, earning a couple of horrified look from the passers-by at the sight of his bloody outfit. Yes, he was supposed to be secretive, but he didn't give a damn.

He sprinted towards the Hokage building, passing by Shizune. "Oi, Lee-kun!" she said, but he didn't stop, instead…

"Gomen, Shizune-san…" he said, "…Tsunade-sama!!"

* * *

She heard her name being called. A split second later, the door to her office was jerked open.

"Hey, how dare you―"

"―Tsunade-sama, there has been a casualty"

She froze, "Casualty, what do you mean?" she said, getting up. Her eyes widened once she saw Lee's green outfit, smudged with blood.

"Who is it?"

Lee narrowed his eyes and looked at the ground; a hint of regret was in his voice when he said the words he never thought he'd speak

"He's dead..." he said, balling his hands into fists, "…Uchiha Sasuke is dead"

* * *

**You heard what Lee said, but what's gonna happen to Gaara? And who the hell is the person Ino wants to talk to? **

**Yeah, I killed Sasuke off. If you don't like it, tell me in your reviews. I might _–I said might-_ think of bringing him back, well, somehow. **

**This story is nearing its end, I'll try my best to update before I leave, but that's unlikely. **

**Please review ;) **


	13. Chapter XIII

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**Reviews:**

Wonderwoman29: Yeah, we all came to realize that, LOL. Thx for your review.

Blackmisery: well, yeah, it didn't end pretty well, but it didn't end as well, did it? Thx for your review.

Kikyouhater118: YEAH, HE'S DEAD AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! _–cries-_ well, yeah, a part of me wanted him to die cuz he was a pain, yet a part of me wanted to comply with your words xP. So I killed him, thank you very much.

Gaara'sbutterfly: She's gonna find out. Trust me! Thx for your review.

Liaish: LoL. Nope, I wasn't kidding. Thx for your review.

Cheese Maiden: Yeah, they're one messed up family. I'm gonna do my best and Yes, you had to wait all that long. Thank you very much for your review and YES school is important. My Last year, you know

Oktoberfest: Thank you very much. I'm so glad you liked the battle. I actually enjoyed writing THIS battle the most out of ALL of my stories

Serenity: I'm very glad you liked it. Thank you for the great complement, I appreciate it deeply. Thx for your review and I hope you keep on reading.

Yume dust: Here is the awaited chapter. I don't know whether I should go on with the story. But I'll try not to make it too long. Thx for your review.

* * *

**Yeah, Sasuke is dead. Live with it, people! **

**Enjoy **

* * *

**That night, Chapter 13:**

The doors to the main Uchiha residence were opened as Tsunade, Shizune, Lee and a couple of medics rushed into the hall.

Neji and Sakura both looked up as two of the medics ran towards Gaara while three ran towards Sasuke.

"Don't try anything…" Sakura said, tilting her head to look at Sasuke's body. "…he's deceased. Time of death: 10:24 a.m." she continued, narrowing her eyes and diverting her vision from Sasuke's body.

"Sakura…" Tsunade mumbled, looking at her student before diverting her eyes on the body of Uchiha Sasuke. "…Matte!"

The medics turned their attention from the dead body towards their master, "hai, Hokage-sama" one of them said, getting up.

"Take him to the morgue; I'll supervise the procedure."

The words rung in Sakura's ear, made her flinch as her tears rolled down her cheeks. The medics moved Sasuke's body on a stretched and headed off. Neji kept his eyes at Gaara as the medics tried to save him.

"Tsunade-sama…" the medic started, causing Tsunade to walk towards them, "…We need you on this one"

"This one is the Kazekage's son. We should not let him die!" Lee said, panting heavily. "…and he's my friend!"

Everyone turned their eyes towards Lee who was at the verge of tears. Neji narrowed his eyes, "Lee…" he mumbled, realizing the kind of effect that would be on him. Lee sniffed.

"You can't let him die. You just can't!" Lee said, running towards Gaara before kneeling next to him. Neji, Sakura, Tsunade and all the medics were shocked by his actions.

"Gaara-kun, Kikoemasu ka?" he asked, wondering if the redhead could hear him. Of course, Gaara couldn't reply. Lee balled his hands into fists and screamed the words again.

"CAN YOU HEAR ME, DAMN IT!" he yelled, slamming his fist to the ground. Sakura flinched and started sobbing while Neji narrowed his eyes. Tsunade walked towards them and looked at Lee.

"Lee…" she mumbled, closing her eyes. "…you're dismissed"

Lee looked up at her, tears strolling down his cheeks. "But, Tsunade-sama―"

"―I said you're dismissed. You're only going to delay our work here!" She said, more sternly. Lee sniffed before getting up, keeping his eyes at Gaara.

"We almost lost him once…" he mumbled, remembering the sight of Gaara's dead body in Akatsuki's cavern. "…Don't let that happen again" he said, walking off. Tsunade sighed and moved towards Gaara.

"Sakura…" she started, also starting the healing process on Gaara. "…you and Neji, make sure Sasuke's body makes it to the hospital"

Sakura gulped and fought back the tears but nodded, getting up. Neji --who had blood all over him-- slowly nodded and got up, walking out.

The pink-haired slowly walked away before stopping, turning around to look at her sensei.

"Tsunade-sama…" she started, causing her leader to divert her vision towards her. "…I'm sure you know about Ino's situation"

Tsunade moved her vision back to Gaara who was still unconscious. Sakura nodded and turned away, "Make sure he survives, Tsunade-sama. Otherwise, it'll kill her" and with that, she walked out the door, following the tracks of Neji, Lee and the medics carrying Sasuke's body.

Tsunade started sweat dropping as she tried her best to use _Tensei no jutsu_; the technique Chiyo used to save Sakura from _Aka Suna no Sasori_'s poison once. She was starting to lose some of her life span in exchange for saving him from the grips of death.

"Tsunade-sama, do you need our help?"

"No!" she exclaimed, not wanting any interruptions from the medics. She was sure she could do it on her own. Her thoughts were only one reviving Gaara...

…she also had Ino and her child in her mind, making her more determined to save him.

* * *

Ino hugged herself, looking at the sky. Despite the busy streets and the people walking past her, she felt alone, distant, and out of the world. Many thoughts ran through her head regarding the previous conversation with who she thought was Gaara.

_'Should I start to move on…?'_ she thought, moving her eyes to the ground, _'…Yes, move on. It would be easy, since we never had a thing in the first place. We just made a mistake…'_

She stopped in her tracks, her own words running through her head over and over again. Was she in love with him? Or was it just the hormones? Ino realized that her feelings were true to him. She had loved him. She realized she was glad to be pregnant with his child.

Ino unconsciously rubbed her stomach and smiled sadly. _'One of the best mistakes I've ever done…' _she thought, looking down. "I won't let go of you. After all, you're a part of him"

"Is talking to others became too troublesome for you? People will think you're weird if they heard you talking to yourself"

She sighed and titled her head to the side, putting a small smile on. "Shikamaru…" she mumbled, before turning around to face her friend.

Shikamaru shrugged, "Who else could it be?" he said, walking up to her. Ino's smile widened as she looked up to him, "Any luck getting your girl a present?"

"Yeah, I got her a small globe-figured thing" he said, chuckling. Ino smiled and nodded slowly, moving her vision to the ground. Shikamaru sensed her tension.

"What's wrong?" he asked, causing her to jerk her head up at him. "Oh, no, nothing at all, it's just…" she paused, sighing heavily. _'This is Shikamaru, he knows me more than I know myself'_

"I know you more than that, Ino…" he spoke her mind, making her chuckle. "…Something's wrong"

Ino looked at the cloudy sky, thinking of a way to tell him what she had inside, wishing she was able to express what she felt. Somehow, she felt that she must keep it all inside.

"Have you seen Sasuke?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Nope, I haven't" he replied, burying his hands into his pockets. "…you need to talk to him?" he continued, receiving a nod from the blonde.

Ino looked at the ground and simply replied with a heaving "Yes" before hugging herself. He knew something was wrong with her, but he decided to let it go, knowing how ugly the argument would turn out to be if he insisted.

"Ino…" instead, he started, causing her to look up at him. "…We've been there together, all the time; you, me and Chouji. If you want to talk, you've got both of us. We both are still here for you…" he said, holding her shoulders. "…and I'll always be here"

Ino smiled sadly, tears unwillingly filling her eyes. "I heard that millions of times. Until now, no one kept their words"

Shikamaru eyed the girl as she walked past him. "Ino, what do you mean by that?" he continued, but didn't get a reply as the girl continued on her way.

The Nara groaned and rubbed the side of his head. "This is getting way over my head" he sighed, and continued on his way. 

* * *

"Will he make it?"

Lee paced back and forth, asking himself the same question over and over again. His anxiety for Gaara's condition was giving him a hard time. Neji, who was sitting on the chairs on the side of the hospital corridor, tried to talk to his teammate in an attempt to calm him down.

"There's no point in worrying" Neji said, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Lee stopped and looked at him.

"How can you be so cool?"

Neji opened his eyes and looked at him, "because it has been settled…"

Lee narrowed his eyes, trying to read his friend's. "W-What do you mean?"

"You saw the condition he was in. He won't make it, Lee!" Neji exclaimed, causing Lee to turn his head to the side and close his eyes.

"D-Don't say that, Neji-kun…" he said, taking a couple of steps away from the Hyuuga. "…Gaara is strong, and he will make it. He won't lose, he won't"

Neji sighed and shook his head. "Don't be emotional. It's not good" he said, getting himself up.

Lee clinched his fists as tightly as he could, as his eyes were glued at one spot on the ground. Neji looked at the ground and turned the other way.

"All you could do is hoping for the better, Lee"

Lee raised his head up, in an attempt of registering his Neji's words. The latter took one last look at his friend before walking off, thinking of washing the blood stains off.

Lee sighed, _'Gaara, you're way stronger than this. You can make it'_ he thought, deciding to sit down and pull himself together.

* * *

_'Where is he?'_

Three words ran into her head as she walked around Konoha, looking for none other than Uchiha Sasuke, to tell him that he was right.

_'You were right about Gaara, Sasuke-kun. You, somehow, knew all along'_ she thought, eyes glued to the ground. Before she knew it, she stumbled backwards and fell on her rear end.

"I'm totally not in the condition to let me fall to my butt!" she exclaimed, looking at the face of whoever bumped into her.

"N-Neji! Oh my god, what happened to you?" Ino said, looking horridly at Neji's bloodied clothes. He kept his eyes to the ground before moving them to hers.

"Something happened…"

Her eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat. She had a feeling that they had a fight; Sasuke and Gaara. She knew it. Ino had a tingling feeling down her spine, the feeling when something really bad that you thought about billions of times came true. She knew one fact for sure.

One of them has killed the other.

Ino didn't know who to worry about; she realized that she didn't want any of them to be hurt. She might've despised Sasuke for what he's done, but she would never wish him any harm.

"…Sasuke and Gaara fought again…"

* * *

"Where are they?"

Ino pushed the door to the ICU section and rushed in, face wet with a mixture of tears and sweat. Neji followed suit, trying to hold her back but she was too anxious to be stopped.

She came to a halt before spinning around fiercely, facing Neji. "Where are they?!" she yelled as he held her shoulders, calming her down. His words weren't comprehendible to her.

"Ino, hear me out…" Neji started, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "Sasuke is…" he said, trying to keep his face as stern as always.

"Sasuke's gone"

Her eyes widened and her lips quivered in shock. She narrowed her eyes as they started to slowly water. "W-What?!" she replied, taking a step backwards, but Neji's grip on her shoulders prevented her from moving.

"I'm sorry" he mumbled, hearing a couple of footsteps coming their way. Ino looked down while he looked up, noticing Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Tenten, Lee, Kankurou and Temari coming their way.

"Gaara, where's Gaara?"

Temari's voice brought Ino to the fact that Gaara hasn't crossed her mind. She lifted her vision towards Neji who had his eyes towards the group.

"Where's Gaara, Neji?"

He slowly let go of her shoulders. "We left him with Tsunade-sama at the Uchiha compound―"

She interrupted his words by running back across the hall. None of the other guys stopped her. Temari and Kankurou decided to follow, wanting to see their brother. Shikamaru and Lee decided to follow; their concern over the girl got the best of them.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama, it's been over half an hour already"

"Then I have less than fifteen minutes left till I give up"

She refused to give up on him. She lost half of her Chakura already, yet she continued to lend him her own Chakura. Her face became pale and she began sweating uncontrollably, feeling her muscles being worn out. She healed most of the major wounds and now was working on getting him back.

"C'mon, Gaara, you're stronger than this" she mumbled. Taking deep breaths with every amount of Chakura she released. One of the medics noticed her fatigue.

"Hokage-sama, if you don't stop you'll kill yourself" he warned, taking a step forward towards his superior. "Onegai, stop it" he pleaded, fearing for her life.

"Quiet! Shinobi are not supposed to have emotions. Get a grip over yourself"

He was startled, and was forced to back off and watch her as she tried to resuscitate the young man. Tsunade couldn't tell whether he was coming back to life for he was too pale in general. She grimaced as she realized she was too weak, and the green Chakura slowly dimmed before it completely disappeared.

"N-no…" she stuttered, trying to continue the process but her body was fully in pain. She realized she used up most of her Chakura and could not go on. She could see her own sweat fall from her forehead onto Gaara.

"This can't be the best I could do, can it?" she said, slumping down on the floor, lowering her head, closing her eyes in an attempt to gather as much Chakura as possible.

* * *

"Ino, slow down, you'll hurt yourself!" Shikamaru yelled, following her. Ino didn't pay attention to anyone around. All she wanted to see was Gaara.

_'He's not dead. He's not dead. He's not gonna leave me. No!'_ Those words repeated over and over again in her head as her tears trailed down her cheeks and flew back as she ran as fast as she could. Ino wasn't thinking as her legs led her straight to the Uchiha compound.

"Gaara!" she screamed while leading the group towards the long pathway. Kankurou grimaced, narrowing his eyes.

"Damn it, Gaara, be safe!" he mumbled, running as fast as he could along with his sister. For the first time in years, he was worried, not only for his brother, but for his sister and Ino as well.

Kankurou started thinking about how he was getting closer to Gaara ever since the extraction of Shukaku, and how he became friendlier to them. He never thought he was going to see the day where Gaara was dying.

_'Dying... You can't die, Gaara. Not now, not ever'_ he said, gritting his teeth.

* * *

Her eyes shot open at the sound of a high-pitched scream that horridly sounded like Gaara's name from a distant. Tsunade looked at the door with her eyes wide open. She knew it was Ino, she knew it would kill her right that moment.

"Damn it, Ino. You always show up at the wrong moments" she mumbled, furrowing her eyebrows. "Don't let her in!" she ordered, causing a couple of medics to walk out of the residence to guard the door.

She turned her eyes back at Gaara and narrowed them, deciding to take action with the old methods. Tsunade decided to perform a CPR. She tilted his head backwards and leaned in, giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation before sitting straight and resting a hand on his chest while the other's fingers intertwined with it. She pushed five times before giving him another breath.

"Breathe, Gaara, Breathe…" she whispered, repeating the process over and over again. "…Breathe, damn it!" she said, her tone almost commanding him. The medics watched how she tried desperately to save his life, but apparently no avail. Her hair was falling to the sides of her face, it became paler and her skin started to grow older. They all knew that Tsunade was using a cell-regenerating method to keep herself young, and they all knew she never liked to tell anyone about it, they all knew she wasn't going to show her real self to anyone, but they knew then that she gave that away to save the young man's life.

"Damn it!" she cussed, giving him another breath as she started panting herself. She narrowed her eyes, grimacing. For once in a long time, Tsunade was close to tears.

"You can't leave her behind, Gaara, she needs you. Your child needs you!" she talked to him, hoping he would hear her. "You can be close to death more than once, Gaara. You can survive this. You were a Jinchuuriki ever since you were born, and survived what most humans can't even go through!" She said, pressing on his chest over and over.

As if her prayers were answered, somehow, she felt his chest rise. Tsunade paused, raising her hands off of his chest. At first, she thought she had imagined that, but when she moved her fingers towards his pulse point on his neck, and noticed a faint pulse, she realized he was alive.

"Gaara, you can do it" she said, giving him another breath, and pressed her hands against his chest one more time. Suddenly, he shot up, inhaling a huge amount of breath for a couple of seconds before exhaling it. His eyes were wide open, but he was almost unconscious.

"Kami-sama, he's alive!" One of the medics exclaimed, looking at the young man's body. Gaara remained still for a mere seconds before blinking twice.

He looked up at the faces of the men in white. His vision was blurry and he felt as if his head was spinning around his neck. Gaara breathed heavily and looked around, still unaware of his surroundings.

"A-Am I …?" he mumbled, blinking to clear his vision before looking to his left where Tsunade was.

"Hokage…" he whispered, breathing slower by the minute. Tsunade remained silent for a second before heaving a sigh, wiping her forehead.

"I assume you're alive and well at the moment. Do you feel any pain or fatigue?" She asked, pausing for a second. She realized it was a stupid question to ask, since the man had his gut almost opened and was practically dead.

Gaara nodded, "I just feel sick…exhausted" he said, burying his face into his hands. Tsunade smirked.

"Tell me about it" She said, getting herself up but almost tripping on her own feet if it wasn't for someone who managed to hold her in time.

"You're still trying to be the old independent lady I always knew, Tsunade"

She narrowed her eyes as she recognized the voice. "You'd better get your hands off of my property, Jiraiya!" she used her growling voice to force his hands away from her 'feminine' parts.

Jiraiya gulped and removed his hands, "I-I never intended to do what you think I was doing. You were tripping and―"

"Yeah, yeah, I get your point. Medics, bring the stretcher and help Gaara back to the hospital" she said, trying to walk off but the fatigue got the best of her, making her trip again. Jiraiya of course was there for her.

"You could simply ask for help" he said, helping Tsunade to walk towards the door. She couldn't help to say no, but she couldn't simply ask for help, thinking that it would be inappropriate as a Hokage. Instead, she just rolled her eyes and mumbled a couple of curses under her breath.

Gaara kept his face buried in his hands. He closed his eyes and relaxed in the darkness. All he could hear was the _thump, thump, thump_ of his heart.

He slowly raised his head up and looked at the scene. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as the medics were walking towards him with a stretcher. The door suddenly burst open, making Tsunade and Jiraiya halt. He narrowed his eyes once he saw his siblings, Shikamaru, and the love of his life all rushing past the guarding medics.

"I-Ino…" he mumbled, grimacing at the sudden pain that rushed through his head. Ino's eyes darted from Tsunade to Jiraiya, towards the medics, looking for any sign of Gaara.

"Where's he? Where's Gaara?!" Ino said, looking between Tsunade and Jiraiya. The blonde woman smiled.

"He's over there" She said, turning to look at the red-head who rubbed the sides of his head before looking up at them with a tired expression on his face. Ino froze and gulped as she felt her pulse rise. Their eyes contacted in a single long moment.

Her eyes started to water again before tears started rolling down. Her lips quivered and her eyes narrowed, her cheeks turned red as she burst in tears, running towards him. Kankurou, Temari and Shikamaru all stood still, watching how Ino headed as fast as she could to Gaara's side.

"Gaara!" she yelled, almost sliding across the room before sitting down on her knees, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer, sobbing loudly.

He was surprised by the sudden action; his eyes moved to look at his siblings and Shikamaru who stood with an expression of relief. Gaara watched how his sister leaned into Shikamaru's embrace, burying her face in his chest. Shikamaru held her and was whispering some reassuring words into her ear.

Gaara turned his attention towards the girl holding him. Ino backed up and cupped his face, moving his hair away from his eyes.

"I thought I was going to lose you…" she said, sobbing, "…I don't care about what you said, about leaving me and going back to Suna. All I want is to see you safe, nothing more…"

Gaara narrowed his eyes as he watched her ramble on and on about something's she claimed he said, but he knew that it wasn't _him_ that told her those words.

"Ino, wait…" he interrupted, causing her to stop talking, yet remained holding his face. "…Where's Sasuke?" he mumbled, looking in her eyes for the answer.

Ino silently gasped before moving her vision away. "S-Sasuke…" she stuttered, avoiding his eye contact. Gaara could see tears welling-up in her eyes before a lone one trailed down her cheek.

"I see…" Gaara mumbled, lowering his head. He sighed and leaned forward, resting his head lazily on her chest as if asking for an embrace. Ino held him close while tears strolled down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and heaved a sigh, feeling safe as she held him.

"I won't leave you, Ino"

She smiled, hearing his words. Gaara lifted his head and looked her in the eye. "I mean it, I won't leave you" he repeated, receiving a nod from Ino as her tears continued to pour.

"I know you won't, Gaara, I know" she said, putting a smile on her face. Gaara leaned in and gave her a small peck on the lips before leaning his head back on her chest and closing his eyes.

Ino smiled and rested her chin on the top of his head, closing her eyes as well. Her heart was pounding so fast she was sure Gaara would be able to sense it. Although her feelings were a mixture of joy, relief and sadness, she managed to concentrate on the young man lying in her arms, and give him the comfort he needed.

Gaara realized that he finally made his choice. He will have to disobey his father, but he was more than willing to do that. He was willing to take responsibility of his actions and he was sure his siblings will stand up to their father for him. He felt relieved that he practically won the battle, yet he felt some kind of sympathy and sorrow towards Sasuke. He knew that things didn't have to go that way, but Gaara had made the decision to fight fire with fire, and he did. The battle had to be either won or lost, there was no other way around it.

He relaxed in the embrace of his Yamanaka lover and draped his arms around her, heaving one last sigh before saying:

"I'm here to stay…"

* * *

**The end? Not yet. **

**But I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be the end. **

**I know this chapter was sucky and lame and booooooooooring, but it's the best I could do since half of it was written before my almost 4-month-departure and the rest was written in the past few days. **

**Please review **


	14. Chapter XIV

* * *

**Reviews:**

Heart reaper: Yes, I have updated because I have some time on my hands. I'm glad someone's satisfied with me killing that Uchiha bastard. Thx for your review. I just knew that you were LIAISH ;D. Good to see your review

Blackmisery: It's great to see your review once again. I'm glad you're happy and I'm glad that you liked the story.

Gaara'sbutterfly: Muahaha, Sasuke is DEAD! Yes, I'm glad he's staying as well. Otherwise, the story would go on for billions of chapters, just like NARUTO.

Cheese Maiden: Yes, my comebacks are always dramatic. The story had to have one of them killed, and I'm sure some of you are glad that it was Sasuke that winded up dead. Thx for your review.

Kikyouhater118: hehehe. Yes, you readers are all special to me cuz I actually get LOTS of ideas out of your support. Thx for your review

Saka Salrin: Thx for your support. I'm glad you liked it and I'll try to update as soon as possible.

Minniemousemom: thank you very much. I'm glad you liked it.

* * *

It's been a while since I last wrote this:  
I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! Though I'd like to own Sai and rip his head off :)

* * *

**That Night, Chapter 14 [Finale**

After lying in Ino's arms for a couple of minutes, he lost consciousness and had to be carried to the hospital immediately to recover. By the time he woke up, he found everyone by his side; his siblings, his friends and Ino, whose stomach had begun growing as the time went by. She was the only one to remain night and day by his side during his stay at the hospital. He was told he was out-cold for two days straight, and was due to get out in the following couple of days.

Everyone was devastated by the death of Sasuke. It had the biggest effect on Sakura, who spent almost an hour daily by his grave. Lee and Naruto stood by her and supported her, helped her during the mourning period. She managed to get over it in a matter of a few weeks before going back to her normal self. She was also seen spending more time with Lee, making people assume there was something between them.

Mainly, everyone's life went back to normal a couple of weeks after the death of Uchiha Sasuke.

About Ino and her pregnancy, her father accepted her decision to keep the child. Her mother, after a long conversation with hot-headed Inoichi, decided to give her support to Ino and help her if she needed anything with maternity. Yet Ino chose to move in with Sakura who was willing to give her all the support she needed for Ino was one of those who supported Sakura after Sasuke's death.

Seemed that everyone was happy about life, but only one problem remained…

...The fourth Kazekage, Gaara's father and only guardian.

"I'll be back. I just need to have a conversation with my father"

The words he said to Ino prior to his departure replayed in his mind as his legs took him to his father's office with heavy steps. He narrowed his eyes, knowing that his father would do nothing but deny his request to live with Ino, and give her all the love and the attention she needed, saying that it's only a mere excuse for running away from his responsibility as the Kazekage's son. Gaara knew that he was running away from his responsibility towards his village to a bigger responsibility which is his own family.

As he walked towards his father's office with the double doors, he stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath. Gaara put on his usual stoic face and stood with his head high, as high as his hopes.

The double doors opened on their own, revealing Baki who was probably in a meeting with his father. Once his eyes met Gaara's he nodded.

"Gaara, good to see you back"

He didn't reply, instead, he walked into his father's office with confidence. Once he laid eyes on his father, he narrowed them.

"Father?"

The Kazekage didn't look as powerful as he used to be. His eyes were red and his face was pale. He was sweating uncontrollably while coughing. Gaara was confused. He'd never seen his father in such shape. He spun around to face Baki whose eyes remained to the ground.

"What's going on?"

"Baki, Close the door as you leave" commanded the Kazekage, receiving a bow from Baki as the latter closed the door behind him. Gaara turned back to his father who had taken his Kazekage hat off and was now resting on the desk. Gaara slowly approached the desk. His father leaned back in his chair and panted.

"A-Are you well, father?" Gaara questioned, standing respectfully in front of his father. The latter looked up at him and nodded.

"Yes, I'm very―" a fit of coughing interrupted his words, making Gaara widen his eyes. "You don't look too well to me" he exclaimed, standing still.

A couple of seconds later, the fit died down and the Kazekage drank a whole cup of water. Gaara didn't move a muscle, instead, he watched his father trying to contain his coughs.

After a couple of deep breaths, the Kazekage continued, "I believe you came here to tell me something" he said, waiting for a response from his son.

Gaara breathed deeply, "I'm asking for your permission to move into Konohagakure"

"I believe we've spoken about that on the phone earlier, and you know my answer to that" he said, adjusting his sitting. Gaara furrowed his eyebrows. "You can't judge before hearing the reason"

The Kazekage sighed, "I'm sure it's about a fight between you and some ninja, and your probably want to kill whoever that is" he groaned, leaning forward in his desk. Gaara shook his head.

"That's not it…" he exclaimed, "…besides, I took a great lesson about how I shouldn't hold grudges against anyone" he continued, remembering how Sasuke winded up dead.

"What is your excuse, then?" he said, smirking, which is not something Gaara used to see on his father's face.

"It's about a girl―"

A chuckle came out of Kazekage's mouth, interrupting Gaara who was displeased by that certain action. "A girl? How could you possibly try to abandon your village for a girl?"

He was sure getting on Gaara's nerves for the latter narrowed his eyes at him. He decided to ignore him. "It's about a girl, Yamanaka Ino, one of Konoha's great Kunoichi" he said, almost wanting to smile at the sound of her name.

"And? What does she have to do with you staying back?" Kazekage questioned Gaara, receiving a small smile from him.

"I've decided to be wed to Ino"

Kazekage smiled sarcastically, "and do you possibly think that I'll let you marry someone out of Suna, someone who I don't even know? Give me one good reason why you should marry that…(inu)"

"It's Ino."

"Same difference"

Gaara's blood was beginning to slowly boil at the remarks his father was throwing. "You want a good reason?"

"Yes" his father replied, raising the cup of water up to his lips. Gaara smirked and waited for the perfect moment to tell his father the news.

"I've got her pregnant"

At those words, water shot out of Kazekage's mouth, possibly his nose as well. "What?!" he exclaimed, eyes widened to their limit before another coughing fit struck him.

"I've got her pregnant" He repeated with a cool attitude. Kazekage stopped coughing and took a deep breath, keeping it in. Gaara knew his father had a temper issue, and he knew lots of doctors asked him to take deep breaths, count to ten and then exhale, thinking it would release the anger.

As his father silently counted, Gaara had a smirk on his face because he knew that never worked with him.

3, 2, 1

"Are you out of your bloody mind?!" Kazekage yelled, slamming his hands on the table. Gaara, on the other hand, remained cool. In fact, Gaara wanted to laugh in his father's face to make him get angrier, but he decided to remain in-character.

"What do you mean by got her pregnant? You can't just get someone pregnant? How did you get her pregnant?!"

Gaara sighed, "I think it's too late for me to discus 'the birds and the bees' with you now, don't you think?" Gaara sarcastically remarked, smirking. Kazekage slammed his hands again.

"Silence! Don't you dare mock my words in front of me! I'm your father and I have the right to be mad at such an irresponsible action―"

"I'm taking full responsibility of my actions but you refused to give me the permission!" he interrupted, glaring back at his father. "I made my choice. I'm staying with her, and nothing you say will ever stop me!"

"What about the position of Kazekage, can that stop you?!" he replied, sitting back down. Gaara narrowed his eyes as his father rubbed his forehead.

"My condition is not going to help me with being a Kazekage so I want to have a successor. I, of course, cannot let Temari handle this because she sometimes gets emotional and lets anger get to her…"

_'Sounds like someone I know…'_ Gaara thought as his father went on.

"…Kankurou cannot handle this because he's, well, Kankurou. He doesn't take anything seriously. So I decided to let you take the position"

Gaara paused as his father's words repeated in his head. "Wait, you're asking me to become…The fifth Kazekage?"

The father nodded, "Yes, in the past few months you've showed nothing but loyalty to your village. You've grown into a strong young man. You're beginning to become a familiar face to Sunagakure, thus, you'll make a great, if not one of the greatest, Kazekage in history" Kazekage said, leaning back in his chair.

Gaara breathed deeply, realizing that his father was asking for the impossible. _'Does he think I'm going to leave Ino for this?'_ He thought, moving his vision towards the ground, spacing out a bit.

"Gaara, you must stay. Your village needs you"

His words started to affect Gaara. That was a chance for the whole village to accept him, to acknowledge him like he always wanted.

"I promised her, father" he mumbled, shaking his head. Kazekage sighed, "You shouldn't have given her a promise that you can't keep"

Gaara closed his eyes and breathed in. He was in such a very critical situation. If he said yes to his father's proposal, he was going to leave Ino devastated and heart-broken, walk away from his own responsibility. If he said no, he was going to leave the village with no leader, or rather in the hands of an inefficient leader, which would probably lead to wars between the countries. Suna, then, won't be able to defend itself properly which will lead to its downfall.

"So? What will it be, Gaara? What will your choice be?"

* * *

"Ino! There's a letter from Suna!"

The five months pregnant girl tried to get up as fast as she could to her pink-haired roommate. Ino saw a smile on Sakura's face, causing her to smile widely. "Give me that!" she exclaimed, reaching for the letter. She was successful in snatching it out of Sakura's hands.

It has been a couple of months since Gaara's left to Suna. She's been told to wait for him to send her a letter in which he'd tell her everything. Ino was sure that the letter in her hands was _the_ letter.

"Open it, open it!" Sakura said, jumping up and down like a child. Ino laughed and sat down, "Calm down, Sakura. I need to read it clearly" she said, shifting on the couch a bit. Sakura threw herself next to the blonde and waited for her to open it.

"Read it out loud!!" Sakura exclaimed in a high-pitched tone. Ino narrowed her eyes at her. "If you don't get quiet in the next five seconds, I'll kill you"

Sakura gulped and nodded quietly, knowing how 'ugly' it gets when Ino gets mad. The blonde smiled to herself as she opened the envelope, threw it aside and got out the neatly folded paper. She opened it with anticipation and read its content:

_Miss Yamanaka Ino: _

_We'd like to inform you that Sabaku no Gaara, son of the Fourth Kazekage, will take his place in ruling Sunagakure of the Wind Country as the Fifth Kazekage. We hope that in his reign, the village will rise above. _

_Signed: __The ministry of interior – Sunagakure _

"This has got to be a joke!" Sakura exclaimed, looking at Ino whose eyes were slowly watering. "W-What is the meaning of this?" Ino mumbled as her hands started shivering. Sakura's eyes moved to the thrown envelope, reaching for it.

She looked inside, searching for something else. She managed to see another paper, taped to the envelope itself. Sakura took it out and unfolded it. She read the first couple of words before handing it to Ino.

"Ino, I-I think this is what you want to read"

The blonde diverted her attention from the paper in her hand to the other one. She snatched the paper out of Sakura's hands and started to read:

_Dear Ino: _

_If you're reading this, then you've probably read the main publication that was sent to everyone around Suna and to our allied countries. What you've read is true. I will rule Suna in father's place. He's fatally ill and my siblings are staying by his side. There's no one to take his place in the ruling. He wishes that I succeed him, and I can't help but to accept. _

_I regret telling you that I won't be able to live with you in Konohagakure as we planned to. Though, I have one request that I hope you reconsider hundreds of time before answering back. _

_Ino, there was not one day that passed without a thought about you or our child. I promised you a dozen of times that I'll stay with you and the baby, but apparently I can't keep my promise for now. I've been thinking about what is the best for our child, and only one thought got into my head. _

_I can only keep my promise if I asked your hand in marriage. If you're willing, I want you to move to Suna with me. Here, I will personally watch over you & you don't have to worry about anything. _

_Please consider it, Ino… _

_…because I don't think I can live without you any longer. _

_Love _

_Gaara _

Sakura waited for any kind of reply from her friend, any gesture about the letter that she'd read, but Ino's face was unreadable. She scooted a bit closer to the blonde and draped her arm around her shoulder.

"Oh, Ino…" she mumbled, leaning her head towards Ino's. This action caused Ino to burst into tears.

"Ino, I'm so sorry." Sakura said, giving the girl a hug. "I'm sorry he has to stay back. It's a good thing he's becoming Kazekage. I'm sure he…he has a good reason…"

Ino sobbed, nodding. "Y-Yeah, but that doesn't mean h-he could go b-back and leave us behind" she said in between the sobs. Sakura caressed her friend's hair and nodded. "I know, I know" she said, trying to calm Ino down.

"What did the other letter say?"

Ino pulled herself out of the hug and wiped her tears. She handed the letter to Sakura who scanned it quickly. "I see…" she mumbled. "…I think you should go with his offer"

"To move in with him?" Ino continued, receiving a nod from the girl. "I really don't know" Ino sighed, moving a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Stop doing that move, it irritates me!" she said, pointing at Ino's hair. "It tells others that you're unconfident" Sakura said, crossing her arms. She looked at Ino who was at the verge of tears at that moment.

"Sorry, but YES, Move in with him!" She said, receiving no reaction for Ino, "According to this, you're going to be his wife, the Kazekage's wife! You'll be with the one you love who's the father of your child! What more could you ask for?" She exclaimed, almost jumping off her feet. Ino sighed again.

"I can't leave everyone behind…" she said, caressing her belly, rethinking of her words, "…yet I can't let our baby grow without a father" she mumbled, looking at her growing stomach.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Damn it, Ino. If I were you, I'd go there in a heartbeat. The two villages are allies; we'll be able to communicate easily"

Ino leaned back in the couch and closed her eyes, breathing deeply. _'If I move in with him, I have to leave everyone behind…. Mom, Dad, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sakura and everyone else…'_ she breathed in, _'…but I don't have another choice, do I―'_

"―It doesn't take that much to think, Ino. You're moving in with him and that's that. If you really want your kid's future to be guaranteed then you'd better get off that couch and get going to Suna"

Ino looked at Sakura as her eyes watered slowly, "Sakura…"

"It's an easy choice, Ino. If I ever were in your shoes, I'd definitely choose moving-in with Gaara-kun" She said, smiling sweetly at her.

Ino could tell she was trying her best to hold back the tears with those smiles. She knew that the friendship between the two grew stronger as they spent more time together.

Sakura had in mind that she wasn't just persuading Ino to move out of her place, but to move out of Konohagakure and go all the way to another country. The two were best of friends and they both know it's going to be hard.

"My god, you're so stupid, Ino!" Sakura exclaimed, giggling nervously. "Pack your bags, call your parents, and let them know you're going to live with Gaara!" She said, waving her hands in the air. Ino chuckled, wiping her tears.

She realized she was making the right choice, she was choosing what's best of her child. She knew that Gaara was trying his best to take responsibility of this incident, otherwise, he wouldn't have asked her to move in with him, and could've easily ended it with 'I won't be able to raise the baby with you'.

Ino pushed herself up and took a deep breath, "Thank you, Sakura, for everything…" She said, smiling at the pink-haired kunoichi who nodded back with no words to be said. "…I'll go rest in my room for a while"

Sakura nodded, and watched the blonde struggle to climb up the stairs. Ino turned to face her and gave her a small smile before continuing on her way.

_'You deserve to be happy with Gaara, and your baby, Ino'_ Sakura smiled and leaned back in her couch, glad that she was able to make someone else get happy, which almost made her forget about her own happiness.

Sakura chuckled and shook her head, "Silly me, I have Lee by my side…" she mumbled to herself, remembering Lee's flashy grin which made her chuckle. _'I'll pay him a visit. He'll be happy with that'_ She thought, getting up. She wrote a note in which she told Ino where she headed before going out the door.

* * *

One month later…

"I want every academy to hold a physical examination for every single one of the students…" Gaara said as he walked through the corridors of his building along with one of the assistants who was writing everything down. "…I want them to be able to do their job properly; I don't want any unnecessary injuries"

Almost a week after Gaara's been announced the Fifth Kazekage, his father passed away, leaving the country within the hands of his son. Temari and Kankurou both vowed to assist Gaara and protect him, him being their leader…and their little brother.

Ever since Gaara took the ruling, his time became so little he had almost no time for himself. As he was walking along the corridors, he stopped his speech for a second.

"Kazekage-sama, are you ok?" the assistant said, looking at Gaara who was starting to slow down before coming to a stop, spacing out.

He was thinking about how his tight schedule was going to be handled if Ino were to move to Sunagakure. In fact, that thought alone kept him up all night, and was starting to affect him greatly.

"Kazekage-sama, we could talk about this later if you're tired" the assistant said, receiving a nod from Gaara.

"Yes, I'll be in my office if anything came up"

And with that, Gaara started walking towards his office, rubbing his temples in the process. _'What have I got myself into? I shouldn't have accepted dad's proposal, yet there was nothing that I could do'_

As he reached his office door, he reached for the door knob and opened the door with a sigh. Once he stepped into his office, he was faced with someone he never thought he'd see.

"Shikamaru?" Gaara said, a hint of surprise was clear in his voice. Shikamaru looked at Gaara and smirked.

"Well, well, I guess Ino is right. Blue IS your color" he said, pointing at Gaara's white and blue Kazekage uniform.

His heart skipped a beat at the sound of her name, also giving him butterflies in his stomach. "Ino? Where is she?"

"She's back in Konohagakure. She couldn't show up so she sent me…" Shikamaru exclaimed, hands in his pockets. Gaara was disappointed by the fact that Ino wasn't going to move in with him, simply nodded and walked towards his desk.

"I see" he mumbled, sitting down on his leather chair. Shikamaru eyed the red-haired ninja. "…She told me to tell you something."

Gaara looked up at him with a tired expression. He realized that Shikamaru stood there silently with a smirk on his face, as if waiting for something to happen.

A few seconds passed before Shikamaru sighed. "This is getting troublesome, Temari!"

Temari, who popped out of nowhere, walked towards Shikamaru with heavy steps. "You couldn't wait for a couple of seconds?!" she exclaimed as her small fan collided with the side of Shikamaru's head.

"Ow! Jeez, woman, can't you be a bit more feminine?!"

Gaara watched as the two argued like an old couple in front of his desk. His eyes moved to his door which was slowly opening to reveal the person he wanted to see.

"Ino…" her name came out as a sigh as she walked inside with a smile on her face, causing him to get up. Shikamaru and Temari noticed her entrance and decided to carry the argument out with them.

The two became alone, exchanging looks only they understood. Ino tried to keep her face straight, but her eyes betrayed her as tears strolled down.

"I missed you"

Those three words came out from him once he saw those tears. She slowly walked towards his desk, making him move out of the back side of the desk and towards her. As soon as she became in front of him, he engulfed her in a loving and warm hug.

"I will never let you go, Ino, never" he mumbled, holding her as tight as possible. She chuckled, "Easy now, you're choking me"

He pulled away, still holding her shoulders. "Oh, I'm sorry" he mumbled, giving her a small smile. Ino shook her head, "It's ok, I know exactly how you feel" she said, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

Gaara gazed upon the girl in his arms and stood still for a couple of seconds. He noticed a certain glow from her. She looked healthier, happier and more beautiful than he could remember.

"How have you been?" he asked, looking at her grown belly. She looked at it and smiled. "We're ok, and we both wanted to see Kazekage-sama" she said, grinning. Gaara shook his head.

"It's not as interesting as you think" he said, sighing, "It's even harder than I thought"

Ino pouted, "Oh? Well, from what I've heard, you're doing a great job" she said, patting on his chest. Gaara gave her another small smile and rested his hands on her forearms.

"I'm glad you're here"

Ino blinked a couple of times before chuckling, moving her eyes to the ground. His hand moved to her chin and lifted her head up.

"Keep it up. Confidence makes you look even more beautiful" he whispered, giving her goose bumps. She blushed and gave a sweet smile, nodding in agreement. Gaara nodded back and sighed.

"I know I promised to look after you, but I'm a bit―"

"…busy, I know. Temari told that you barely have some time off" Ino interrupted, looking at Gaara right in the eyes. "It's ok. At least we're together now. I don't want to be a distraction, after all"

"You're not, Ino" he replied, holding her forearms tightly. "I'm glad you're here. I want you to stay…" he said, breathing deeply. "…I need you to stay. I want you to become my wife, to love and to hold. It's enough for me to know that you'll be here for me"

Ino smiled and got closer, giving him a small peck on the lips. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have come all the way here" she said, cupping his face. "I'm here to stay, Gaara-kun" she said, giving him another kiss, full of love and passion. He exhaled a breath he's been holding in for quiet some time, kissing her back while pulling her closer. Her grown belly was getting in the way of the passionate kiss, causing both of them to chuckle.

"It'll be troublesome to do that for a while" he said, chuckling. Ino nodded in agreement, laughing before pulling away.

"I will leave you to work. Temari wanted to show me where I'm staying but I told her I needed to see you first" she said, smiling sweetly before heading out.

Gaara watched her as she opened the door and blew a kiss his way before leaving. He rested on his desk and sighed.

"She's going to be a distraction alright" he said, smiling to himself before going back to work.

* * *

"So how does it feel…?" Chouji chewed on a piece of bread, "…being married to Kazekage-sama?"

Ino chuckled, fidgeting with her hands and twirling the diamond ring in her finger. "It feels just like marrying someone with a normal job"

Shikamaru yawned, "Not very interesting then" he said, "besides, you're too troublesome for him―"

A smack across the head interrupted his sentence. "No one asked for your opinion, lazy-head!" Ino exclaimed, clearing her throat before regaining her composure. Chouji chuckled and pointed at Ino's attire.

"By the way, you look very beautiful in this white dress" he remarked, giving her a sweet smile which made his cheeks puff.

It was the day; Ino was in her white gown that fit her properly. It was a very simple design. It was a long sleeved dress which was made out of pure satin and it was a bit longer than normal wedding dresses. Her veil was made out of chiffon material, which was draped over her head and over her shoulders. She changed it from the one she wore during the ceremony – which was in the same design yet it trailed down her back and onto the floor—.

Yes, believe it or not, Yamanaka Ino had become Gaara's wife, eleven months after her pregnancy. They had a baby boy whom they called "Daisuke". He had his father's figure, but his mother's eyes.

After moving in to Sunagakure, Ino managed to cope with Gaara's busy days while he managed to get his work under control. The couple decided to have a big wedding that the whole village participated in it, yet Ino asked him to wait until she's delivered their child.

Now, after Ino's been announced as Sabaku no Ino, it was the after party and Ino was chatting along with Chouji and Shikamaru.

"Yeah, isn't it such a drag to move around with this behind you?" Shikamaru asked, referring to Ino's dress.

She shook her head and smiled. "No, not at all" she replied with a smile. "I can't be any happier, wearing this dress"

Chouji grinned at her, munching on his food. She stared at the glass in her hand before a high pitched sound called her name.

"Ino!"

"Oh, great, now they're going to start talking about dresses and stuff" Shikamaru complained, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm going to find Temari. She'd get me something useful" and with that, he walked off.

"Hey, Ino, the wedding was amazing. You two look so great!" She said, hugging her friend. Chouji then excused himself and left the girls alone.

"I'm glad you all made it here. I would've been really upset if you couldn't make it" Ino said, smiling sweetly. Sakura laughed. "…and miss the greatest wedding of the century? Hell no!" she exclaimed, laughing, making Ino laugh along.

A tap on Sakura's shoulder made her turn around. There, stood Lee with a wide smile on his face… wearing a green tux.

"For heaven's sake, Lee, you couldn't find another color?!" Sakura exclaimed, balling her hands into fists. Ino almost cracked up, watching Sakura dressed in a nice baby-blue-colored dress while wanting to beat that cheerful attitude out of him

Lee shrugged, "You know that green is the color of youth. I cannot give my beliefs up" he replied, giving her the thumb up.

Sakura couldn't help but to laugh while Lee turned into a deep shade of red. He rubbed the back of his head before clearing his throat.

"Would you like to have this dance with me?" he nervously asked, smiling at her. Sakura replied with walking to the dance floor while pulling him by the arm.

Ino smiled as the two started dancing in the middle of the dance floor. She could hear Sakura's laughter over the music, indicating how happy she was. Ino somehow knew that Lee was the one for her. He truly cared for her, and would probably do for the rest of his life.

Ino began looking around the wide hall –which was an extra hall added to the main Kazekage building— for any sign of her groom, but he was nowhere to be found. She spent over five minutes trying to locate him, while nodding respectfully to the people who said their hellos.

She decided to carry the hem of her dress and walk out of the hall to look for Gaara. She walked along the hallway as the music from the party faded, now she was walking through the empty silent halls of the building she should consider from now on her house.

She reached his office, opened the door and peeked in. _'No sign of him in here'_ she thought, closing the door behind her.

Ino sighed, thinking about where he could be. She wasn't going to roam the three stories building looking for him, that's for sure. She then remembered where his favorite place used to be.

She walked up another story and towards a certain room. Ino was sure Gaara was in that room, she could bet her life on it. She saw the nanny waiting outside the room, leaning against the wall, looking at her feet. She looked up to see Ino. The nanny bowed respectfully as Ino walked into the room.

As she slowly opened the door and walked in the dimly lit room, she smiled at the sight. Gaara was sitting on the rocking chair, holding the baby in his arms as the boy cooed, falling asleep.

"Hey…" she whispered, causing Gaara to look up at her. "…you didn't tell me you were up here"

Gaara gave a small smile before looking back at his child, "I told the nanny to give me some time with Daisuke. I shouldn't have left the party, I know, but I just thought I could use some quiet time. I'm not a big fan of music, you know" He explained as Ino walked up to him and stood over him.

"He's so peaceful, isn't he?" she said, caressing her baby's hair. Gaara nodded, "and I'll make sure he gets a peaceful life"

Ino could tell Gaara meant every word he said. She knew his childhood affected him greatly, and she knew he vowed to not let anyone go through what he's been through. She smiled and wrapped her arms across Gaara's shoulders, giving him a kiss on the side of his head.

"I know you will. We both will" she said, smiling at him. Gaara turned his head to face her and gave her a small kiss. Ino smiled as he got up and put the baby back in his crib. She automatically walked up to him and stood by his side, watching how he gently tucked Daisuke in.

"I bet you never pictured yourself doing this" Ino joked, smiling at him. Gaara chuckled, and wrapped an arm around her. "Actually, I've been trying to get this moment right ever since I knew you were pregnant"

Ino smiled and hugged him as he hugged back, holding her close. They stood there for a couple of seconds before pulling away.

"Let's go back to the party, you don't want them to think we're doing something" Ino said, getting a bit closer to him. Gaara wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a sly smile. "Do you want to be doing something else, rather than going to that lame party?" he said, leaning closer.

Ino smiled and leaned closer before resting her hand on his lips. "Not in the room with the baby" she said, giving him a wink. Gaara chuckled as she started walking out the room. Gaara took one last look at his kid before following her.

* * *

Everyone was having fun at the party. Gaara and Ino were dancing happily just like Sakura and Lee. Kankurou was having a drink while talking with one of the girl's villages. Shikamaru and Temari were nowhere to be seen. Tenten has forced Neji to start dancing with her, which resulted in a very awkward moment for the Hyuuga. As for the other Hyuuga, Hinata was trying to teach Naruto how to dance properly, which made her realize that Naruto has no rhythm. Ino's parents were sitting along with Baki and other villagers, talking about everyday life.

As for Chouji, Kiba and Shino, they were sitting down, enjoying the party in their own calm way, watching the newly weds publicly express their love for one another.

They were all pleased that life took a great turn for each and every one of them. No more fights, no more deaths and no more unnecessary arguments.

"I wanna get married" Kiba exclaimed, leaning back in his chair. Shino took a sip of his drink, "Marriage is all about commitment and being faithful to your spouse…" he said, "…I doubt you'll have that"

"Say what?!"

…yeah, we could say _almost_ no more unnecessary arguments.

* * *

_(In Japanese, Inu means dog. While Ino's name actually means "boar", both worked as a pun)_

**OWARI! **

**I know, Lame ending, but at least it's a happy one, eh? **

**I believe this was the best chapter I wrote because looking back at the beginning of the story, OMG, I should totally rewrite it. **

**I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it and reading your reviews. **

**Thank you all for your support, and for the last time in this story, I say… **

**Please review. **


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